Stephanie Spear 
There’s a new supper club in Fairfax where guests arrive for a four-course dinner and leave with new friends and a deeper appreciation for the way food can bring people together. Founder Abimbola Oshodi was inspired to create Something Light Supper Club by her desire to create connection and community. The series officially launched in early 2026 and brings together themed menus, local “food architects,” and a mission to create space for community. Read on for more about Something Light Supper Club and how you can reserve a seat at the next event.
About the Founder
Founder Abimbola Oshodi moved to the United States from Nigeria about 12 years ago, though the move was not originally meant to be permanent.“It was actually a short-term vacation, or so I thought,” she said. “I had just graduated from college, and I wanted to explore the world a little bit.” After arriving, family members encouraged her to consider staying longer. “They said, ‘We think you’d do well here. Just explore and see,’” she shared. “So I began the immigration process, and here we are 12 years later.”
Abimbola works full-time in program management, strategy, and communications for an automotive technology company, but hospitality has always been part of her life. Over the years, she hosted friends’ birthdays, cooked, baked, occasionally tended bar, hosted church small groups, and brought together volunteer communities. Again and again, people told her she had a gift for creating experiences. “People would always say the same thing: ‘You curate really great events. You bring people together. You have such a great vibe. Why not try this full-time?’” she said. “And here we are, seeing what that looks like.”
Abimbola launched Something Light Supper Club in early 2026. The name is a play on words, because as she says, “Nigerians don’t really do anything ‘light’.” As far as her goals, “I wanted to build a community,” Abimbola shared. “I wanted people to come and connect with each other. I really enjoy hosting. I enjoy curating events.”
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But the heart of the series goes beyond dinner. The founder also has a sibling with Down syndrome, and part of the event’s mission is to give caregivers and people connected to the special needs community a moment of respite.“At every supper club, we have two people who are caregivers or people with special needs in one capacity,” she said. “We give them these two hours to unwind, rest a little bit, and just laugh – away from the seriousness of their life.”
How it Works
Abimbola puts together each event around a theme, which could be an ingredient, a place, or a feeling. From there, she works with what she calls a ‘food architect’ to come up with the menu. “I found out the best meals are not always made by professional chefs,” she said. “I’ve been to two- and three-star Michelin restaurants, and they are good, sure. But the best foods I’ve ever had have been made with love, made with heart.” The term creates room for people who may not be classically trained but know food deeply, whether through culture, family, experimentation, or lived experience.
The first event came together through a collaboration with her friend Morenike Ayo-Vaughn, who goes by Renny, whom she met at church. The two had bonded over their shared love of hosting. Renny had previously hosted food events and still wanted to cook for people, but did not want to handle every detail of event curation. Renny came up with the menu, and Abimbola decorated the space and coordinated the crowd. The end result was a wonderfully curated event, and proof that they could pull it off.
The Experience
Guests can reserve their seats in advance via Eventbrite. Tickets are $125 and include a four-course dining experience: one appetizer, two family-style entrées, one dessert, two drinks, either cocktails or a wine pairing, depending on the menu, plus a souvenir to take home. The souvenir is also part of the Nigerian element of the event. “Guests can’t leave empty-handed from a Nigerian event,” Abimbola explained.
It’s just as easy to go with a friend as to go alone, since the point is to make connections. The meal is interactive in a way that feels fun and natural. Abimbola and Chef Renny kept the pace up and explained each dish before it was served. In between courses, we did some icebreakers to get the conversation flowing. By the end of the night, the room was full of laughter and energy, which is saying something as most of the attendees arrived without knowing each other.
At the dinner we attended, the meal was centered around plantains. Most of us are familiar with fried plantains, but Chef Renny’s imagination took the starchy fruit all around the world with sweet, savory, and fusion dishes. She is the co-author of a cookbook dedicated to plantains, called 10 Easy Ways to Love Plantain, so this was an easy pick for her.
Chef Renny said she loves to explore other food cultures and infuse them with her native Nigerian cuisine. “For today, a lot of the dishes started with something traditionally Nigerian, with the plantain, but then I added my own take,” she said. “Adding ingredients like coconut milk or just using the plantain in a different way.” One of the standout dishes was Plaintain Beds with Savory Ground Beef, which Chef Renny said was inspired by tostones and Thai pad krapow.
What’s Next
Abimbola said that future themes may include nostalgic concepts, different decades, specific places, and ingredients that connect cultures across regions. Through her own study of food and food history, she has become interested in the way one ingredient can travel across countries and cultures, showing up in different forms depending on the region.
“One ingredient tends to spread across different regions, and they just make it a little differently,” she said.
Most of all, Abimbola wants people to know that the door is open. “There’s somebody in Fairfax County who is willing to host them,” she said. “The table is always there for them.” Accessibility is also part of the vision. She hopes to keep the price point approachable while still preserving the full experience: the meal, the gift, the atmosphere, and the chance to be part of something a little out of the ordinary.
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“Everyone is truly welcome,” she said. “We tried to keep it at this price point to make it more accessible while preserving the elements of the experience. We plan to keep it that way for a very, very long time so more people can come experience something out of the ordinary with us.”
The best way to keep up with Something Light Supper Club is through its website and Instagram.
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