Fam,
I recently saw this saying, and I felt it so much that I need to share it with you: “My mom was the first country I ever lived in.”
We all can say that about our mothers, but today I want to tell you a little bit about mine. Because the first country I lived in is why I am the way I am.
My mom never went to school, but she could sew or fix anything. She could stretch money like no one else. She raised 17 children and never waited for help. She made things happen. That’s who taught me how to survive, how to hustle, how to never give up.
This month, as Mother’s Day approaches, I’ve been thinking about her a lot. She didn’t start businesses to get rich. She had to feed a lot of kids, so why not make some extra food and sell it to the community? She started businesses to solve problems. And that’s exactly what we’re doing now.
Last month, I spoke at a public hearing to request tax abatement for our East Warren project, a second location for Baobab Fare. It was my first time doing something like this, and I was nervous. You never know how people will respond. But I was overwhelmed, in a good way. The support from Councilmembers James Tate and Latisha Johnson, from Joe Rashid at East Warren Development Corporation, from the Detroit Economic Growth Corp. team — it reminded me that we’re not building alone.
Detroit has always made us feel at home. That night, it felt like Detroit told us, “We see you. We want you here.”
Any business you start, you ask yourself if this is a good decision that you’re making. That hearing was confirmation that this community and Detroit need us. We are here to contribute. We are not one of those businesses to suck up the opportunity and just run away. We are investing in the city. Some people wondered if we were just here because of those opportunities, but we had a lot of choices for places to set up another location and we chose Detroit because this is where we see our future. This is our way of saying we are staying and are investing in Detroit.
People keep asking if the East Warren project is still happening. The answer is yes. A big yes. These things take time, but we’re in it for however long it takes.
Baobab Fare 2.0 on East Warren is about planting deeper roots. It’s about offering our food and hospitality to a whole new part of the city. It’s about investing in Detroit, bringing life and vibrancy back to a building that hasn’t seen it in years. It’s also about building something for our team, some who’ve been with us since day one. They need room to grow, too.
And it’s not just on the east side.
This summer, we’re opening Waka in Eastern Market — a dream I’ve had since before Baobab Fare ever existed. We couldn’t afford it then. The timing wasn’t right. But now, here we are. Waka will give us more space, a bigger kitchen, and the chance to bring our street food to even more people. Our kitchen at Baobab Fare in New Center is very small, and we prepare all the food for the restaurant, the food truck, and our caterings (which you can now order online) from this small space. With the Waka brick-and-mortar, the big kitchen will allow us to grow our capacity and feed more people.
Running two major projects at the same time is not easy. I’ve never done real estate in my life. Some people had doubts. A few even said so at the hearing. But others stood up and defended our vision. And that meant everything.
Like my mom, I’m not doing this for status. I’m doing it because it’s the only way I know — to work hard, to solve the problem, to serve the people around me.
This summer is going to be big. And we’re just getting started. Thank you for being along for the ride.
❤️
Mamba
Waka by Baobab Fare is on the move!
Interested in catching our food truck this month? Check our full line up for the month of May which includes DCFC, Flower Day at Eastern Market and Spot Lite Detroit in partnership with Movement Music Festival!
Mother’s Day gifting made easy
Whether you’re shopping for a coffee-aficionado, a chocolate-lover or a spicy mama, Soko by Baobab Fare has everything you need for Mother’s Day gifting! Check out our wide variety of goods online or in store today!