Mulu Reda, Owner of Barcote Ethiopian Restaurant was born and raised in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where she began her love and passion for cooking as a young gir,l watching her mother and aunts cook a variety of traditional Ethiopian dishes. As she grew older she began helping her mom prepare most of these same dishes and even learned how to make enjera, Ethiopian flat bread. Mulu moved to America with her husband and two daughters in 1996. As the Ethiopian population in the Bay area began to rise she became more involved in the community.

Spending most of her time at the local Ethiopian Medhalam Church where she would prepare meals for the priest and the congregation. She initiated monthly fundraising where she and a group of volunteers would prepare meat and veggie dishes to sell to the members to raise funds for the church. This passion of serving people and cooking eventually led Mulu take a risk and open a restaurant of her own.