Germène's Home Kitchen & Bakery now open

By Faith Hatton, posted Jul 19, 2026 on BizFayetteville.com

A family affair: Along with a full staff, Owner Eddie Claude and his wife Ruth (pictured right) work with their kids to run the restaurant. Eddie is a Veteran who served for 21 years in the U.S. Army. Photos by YGH STUDIOS & GFBJ.

The Fayetteville community is abuzz over a new Haitian restaurant that opened its doors on Saturday, June 27. Friends and family gathered at Germène’s Home Kitchen & Bakery, located at 1205 Robeson St. in Fayetteville, to celebrate their long-awaited grand opening.

The Haitian-Caribbean restaurant was brought to the community by Owner and Head Chef Eddie Claude, a U.S. Army Veteran and Haitian-born entrepreneur from the Artibonite Department in Haiti.

“For more than 20 years, I had the privilege of serving our country. Beginning today, I have the privilege of serving this community one plate at a time,” shared Claude at the opening.

The restaurant features a handcrafted menu created by Claude that includes breakfast, lunch and dinner options. Food such as chayote with pork and mixed seafood, jute leaves (Lalo), taso kabrit (fried goat) and fried chicken and plantains are available all week, with special additions to the menu scheduled for the weekends.

Everything from the names of the cocktails to the food featured pays tribute to his home country of Haiti and his late grandmother, after whom the restaurant is named.

“Not only do I know she was a kind person, I care more about her generosity, how she would make sure that somebody had a plate, or a bowl of Akasan with some bread or coffee. Because even if a person came by who didn’t have money, she would make sure she would feed them. So I named this place after her so I can honor her name, her legacy of being a great person,” shared Claude.

This is the second restaurant opened and owned by Claude, who has another restaurant in Haiti. With a business plan already in place, he shared that he was able to rely on Fayetteville’s business support ecosystem to get the business off the ground. He worked with the Women’s Business Center of Fayetteville at CEED, which then later connected him to the Carolina Small Business Development Fund (CSBDF), which provided him with the funding to open.

“The Women’s Business Center of Fayetteville, with Miss Danice and Mr. Stewart, they helped me get in contact with Miss Magaly. I already had a business plan, everything structured, but then I wanted more of it. Danice and Stewart helped me finalize it and structure it to the way I wanted it, to what it is now. It was very helpful for them to connect with me and advise me to reach out to the Carolina Small Business Development Fund,” shared Claude. “The very moment that Miss Magaly received my email, she was honest, she was reaching out and connected so much, like, she would help me on the weekends.”

The CSBDF was able to help Claude secure a new loan to help open the business.

“One of the things that was very impressive about Eddie; he came very prepared, very knowledgeable. I think he did an excellent job of availing himself to the business ecosystem and every nuance of support that would be available to him,” shared Magaly Rivera, a business solutions officer for the CSBDF. “[There are] two key documents that we always look for, which is the business plan and the financial projections, that tells me that there is a level of readiness, and then we keep moving forward from there. We officially state that it takes up to 90 days to close a loan. How well prepared the client is, is what’s going to make the difference in that timeline.”

Now, with the doors open, Claude and his team say they are ready to meet the community.

“I opened this restaurant because I wanted to share the rich flavors and beautiful culture of Haiti with the people of Fayetteville, while creating jobs, strengthening our community and serving every guest with love, respect and genuine hospitality. So, my hope is that every person who walks through our doors lives not only with a full stomach but with a full heart,” said Claude. “Restaurants belong to our community, so whether you are Haitian, American, military, Caribbean, African or simply visiting our city, everyone has a seat at our table.”

Germène's Home Kitchen & Bakery is open Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. - 9 p.m., Friday and Saturdays from 7 a.m. until midnight, and from 8 a.m. - 10 p.m. on Sundays.

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