Chaldeans in Business
Metro Detroit employers felt the ground shift beneath them during the height of the COVID pandemic in 2021-2022. Precautionary measures intended to limit the spread of COVID-19 had the devastating unintended effect of slowing to a trickle the revenue streams of “in-person” businesses such as restaurants, concert venues and banquet halls.
Honigman LLP announced that Rana Sadek Roumayah has joined its Labor and Employment Department as a partner in the firm’s Detroit office. Roumayah joins Honigman after working for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for 23 years. At the NLRB, she developed an expertise in traditional labor law and other aspects of employment law. Specializing in case analysis, strategic planning, negotiations, and compliance, Roumayah has litigated, negotiated, and tried hundreds of cases.
In today’s rapidly evolving world, establishing and nurturing a brand that captures the hearts and minds of consumers is an art form. One individual who has masterfully embraced this challenge is Lydia Michael, an author and brand strategist whose groundbreaking book, “Brand Love – Building Strong Consumer-Brand Connections,” released on July 25, 2023, by Kogan Page, a leading independent publisher of business books, has taken the marketing world by storm.
Savvy Sliders’ founder and CEO Happy Asker started with a dream and a strong vision to reimagine what a slider should be. In 2018, he opened his first Savvy Sliders location in Commerce Township, Michigan. Today, Savvy Sliders has 35 locations in Metro Detroit with 30 more in development in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee, Florida, and Texas. The growth of the company has made it the fastest growing slider brand in America.
In May, a group of more than 20 Michigan judges of Arab and Chaldean descent got together for an inaugural meeting of the Arab-American Judges Association of Michigan (AAJAM). The AAJAM is the result of an effort to bring together judges of Arab American and Chaldean ancestry, according to founders of the organization. Its mission is to promote diverse judicial leadership and foster social, professional, and personal development among members.
Legislators in the Michigan House of Representatives have introduced two bipartisan bills to amend Public Act 58, which is widely referred to as the liquor code. After months of advocacy and planning by the Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce (CACC) on behalf of the Chaldean community’s liquor store and supermarket owners, the bills can finally be considered by elected representatives.
Though some women approach turning 50 with trepidation, GG Benitez is arriving at that mile marker with confidence.
With her 29-year-old daughter Alexis’s marriage a few months ago, her 19-year-old daughter Daniella completing her first year at Loyola, and her 17-year-old son Gabriel entering his senior year of high school, GG decided to fuse her public relations skills with her affection for travel.
Most of us have daydreams about cruising downtown streets in a classic Rolls Royce or sailing through the clouds in a private jet with our significant other and a few close members of our entourage.
Well, we might not be able to own such luxurious modes of transport, but we can be king or queen for a day, thanks to two enterprising Chaldean businessmen who specialize in royal treatment.
Three outstanding Chaldean community members made the “30 in their Thirties” list for dBusiness magazine this year.
The CACC hosted its 20th Annual Awards Dinner on Friday, April 28, naming Ron Boji of Boji Group as 2023’s Businessperson of the Year. The event drew a crowd of nearly 900 to Shenandoah Country Club, where guests were treated to individual bottles of champagne and “Heavenly Dates” at each place setting. Speakers included Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Congressman John Moolenaar as well as the guest of honor, Ron Boji, and Mike Denha, last year’s honoree.
Tommy Gasso, Senior VP of Commercial Lending for Community Financial Credit Union was named one of Crain’s Detroit Business 2023 Notable Leaders in Commercial Banking. Gasso joined Community Financial Credit Union in 2013, and in less than 10 years, grew its collective commercial portfolio from $20 million to $220 million, a sizable figure for the metro Detroit-based credit union.
As the Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce celebrates its 20th year, the philanthropic arm of the Chamber, the Chaldean Community Foundation, reaches across Woodward to establish a presence on the ‘west side.’ The Corners, a property at Walnut Lake and Inkster Roads next to Market Square, will become the new Chaldean Community Center, housing administrative offices for the Foundation, Chamber offices, a gymnasium, a television and radio studio, classrooms, an amphitheater, and much more.
Like many northern, cool weather states, Michigan has lost population in recent census counts. The state has also seen its representation in Congress diminish, losing a seat in the latest census. But the state is not registering the worst outmigration in the nation or region, and its predicted population changes for coming decades paint a mixed picture, leaving open the search for causes and solutions.
Ron Boji is an extremely successful businessman who happens to base many of his life decisions on a series of “Louie-isms” – sayings he has heard his entire life from his father, Louie (Louay) Boji, a successful businessman in his own right.
Food Network star and restaurateur Guy Fieri is bringing his brand of fried chicken to Michigan, and Tomey Group is helping him do that.
CCF President Martin Manna had the great privilege of meeting with King Abdullah of Jordan at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington DC earlier this month. The King relayed that Iraq is a priority for him and invited Martin to meet with him in Amman to discuss long-term sustainability for Christians in Iraq.
Wireless Vision, in partnership with the Chaldean Community Foundation, hosted a kickoff event for 12 professionals within the community who were selected to participate in the first ever Learn with a Leader Program. Participants gathered at 220 Merrill in Birmingham to enjoy an evening of food, fun, and interaction.
“European customers are switching to electric vehicles at a faster rate than anywhere in the world.” So says Jaclyn McQuaid, and she should know. GM is all-in on EV, investing $35 billion through 2025 in electric and autonomous vehicle technology in Europe, and Jaclyn oversees the entire operation on that side of the pond.
When Genevieve Kashat was 3 years old, she watched with awe as her mother made a rich, delicious, and familiar banana bread for her family to enjoy. Years later, this moment would blossom into something much greater: a budding baking career and a shot at Food Network stardom. The road from mom’s banana bread to the Kids Baking Championship requires just the right mixture of talent, hard work, creativity, and inspiration.
Almost three decades ago, three friends joined forces for a professional journey none of them could have predicted. Patrick Tomina and Eric Hardy met at University of Michigan-Dearborn. They came together from very different backgrounds—Tomina is Chaldean and has roots in independent retail businesses; Hardy is African American and from a family in which his father worked for General Motors and expected his son to follow a similar path.
economics & enterprise
Over the last 20 years, war, terrorism, and economic turmoil have made life difficult in Iraq. This is doubly true for its Christians who often feel these facts of life more deeply than anyone else.
Despite this, or perhaps because of this, Maryam Qasha is committed to the small business she started just this year. She makes rosaries and other Christian-styled jewelry by hand for customers all over the world.
Mirna Ashaka, a 24-year-old café entrepreneur, learned the business from her brother. Now she has a successful catering business – Detroit’s Royal Sweets – as well as a prime storefront in downtown Rochester under the name “iChillyn café.”
Ashaka’s brother married and moved to San Diego a few years earlier, starting a business in El Cajon named Royal Sweets. This is where Ashaka worked for over three months before starting her own catering business, aptly named Detroit’s Royal Sweets – a nod to her brother, to whom she says she owes everything.
With all the mayhem going on in the world, it can be very easy to fall into a negative thinking loophole. And the more we focus on negativity, the more we attract. The new negativity we attract leaves us feeling even more pessimistic, causing us to draw in even more negativity, and so on. I think you know where I am going with this. It becomes a never-ending cycle, a downward spiral into a bottomless abyss. The reason I am mentioning any of this is to break you out of this pattern and point out an overlooked advantage happening amidst the current chaos; an advantage that most people are unaware of.
PizzaPapalis’ original Greektown location will close permanently. Its six other locations, including five in metro Detroit, will remain open and are busier than ever. Mark and Joe Sheena, the co-owners of PizzaPapalis, established the Greektown location 35 years ago.
In 2006, the Bank of Michigan raised $8 million and opened its doors as the first Chaldean-owned bank in the US. Even then, Capitol Bancorp held 51% of its shares, but Chaldeans were elated at the idea of a community-operated bank. When it began, the Bank of Michigan had 180 local investors, most of whom were Chaldean.
Whether or not you are a believer in global climate change, there’s no denying that we have experienced record amounts of rainfall in our region in the last few months. A Detroit Free Press article on September 21 reported recent flooding in metro Detroit overwhelmed the regional water system and took out power lines, leaving hundreds of thousands of Michiganders in the dark – some for days. Power related issues at pumping stations and an outdated infrastructure have left us bemoaning the record rainfall.
Along with other silver linings during the COVID-19 pandemic such as lower flu rates, more quality time with family and spending less money, new business opportunities emerged as industrious entrepreneurs found themselves with extra time on their hands. Attorney Awan Kuza found herself working at home with a reduced caseload and started a high-quality play dough business called Love & Dough. High school counselor Hillary Sesi used the extra time to go pro with her charcuterie board business, Hill’s Boards.
For the most part, events-oriented businesses in Michigan are staying the course as the pandemic continues to unfold in unpredictable ways. Many thought business would be back to normal by now, particularly with the spectacularly early arrival of viable vaccines. But, as the old proverb goes, “Man plans, God laughs.” While vaccines have become the norm and social distancing and masked faces seem like second nature, new strains of COVID and a reluctance among part of the population to vaccinate have complicated things.
When Powerhouse Gym emerged in the 1970s, the Dabish family grew their single location in Highland Park into an international brand that today includes franchisees across the country and around the world. The Dabishes built their business with grassroots marketing savvy, innovation and a lot of hard work.
As Michigan prepares to enter the ninth month of the coronavirus pandemic, a resurgence of COVID-19 has extended work from home for professionals who have been housebound and Zoom-dependent since March.
Alcoholic beverage delivery is not new. Liquor stores have been delivering wine, beer and booze since early 2017, shortly after Public Act 520 of 2016 received a jot of gubernatorial ink. “The regulatory component with the greatest potential for changing the face of personal alcohol sales in Michigan…
Alcoholic beverage delivery is not new. Liquor stores have been delivering wine, beer and booze since early 2017, shortly after Public Act 520 of 2016 received a jot of gubernatorial ink. “The regulatory component with the greatest potential for changing the face of personal alcohol sales in Michigan…
Many people would be intimidated by the idea of decorating a 7,100-square-foot home, but not Olivia Mona. She was born for it. Mona has always had an eye for design but three small children and a busy household didn’t leave much time for career experimentation. Being an active mom and helping to decorate for her kid’s school events satisfied Mona’s creative urges for many of her children’s younger years, but now that two of them are in high school, and the youngest in junior high, it’s time for mom to shine.
Valerie Hermiz Clark has always been a traveler. She took her first job in high school specifically to fund trips around the world. As a Chaldean, she attended Western Michigan University on a full Cultural Diversity Scholarship Award. Valerie studied abroad in Spain and graduated with a degree in Secondary Education and Spanish/English majors.
Naked Fuel is more than a juice bar, it’s the idea that through taste, sight and sound we can align mind, body and soul to harness inner power and heal ourselves naturally. Using only organic materials—food from the earth—is a passion for Natasha Hamama and her mother Gloria Simaan, founders and proprietors of Naked Fuel in West Bloomfield.
Chaldean weddings are famous for their fun, over-the-top traditions of music and dance. Handed down through generations, the ‘Zaffa,’ is the traditional dance of the bride and groom as they enter the reception after the wedding, one that has proven to be timeless.
When we last spoke with Jonathan Elias, aka the “Pastry Guru,” he was knee deep in wedding cake. On the cover of the December 2017 issue of The Chaldean News, the chef was fresh off the Food Network, eventually placing second on the channel’s fanciful Halloween Baking Championship. In the cover photo he held in his hand a simple cake that he was sure he could teach us all to bake. As if... Jonathan’s baking wizardry is a gift he seems to have been born with and for that, he is thankful.
Among the hustle and bustle of Southfield road, between 12 and 13 Mile roads, is Arkins Sweet BBQ Pit. A restaurant that even between the lunch and dinner rush on a Thursday, has people still cycle in and out picking up food, or eating at a table.
It’s past time for that annual ritual known as spring cleaning and organizing after those long and hectic fall and winter months. But, some people just never get around to it and the mess and disorganization builds until it becomes downright stressful.