From Iraq with Love
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.
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Bring on the Chill: Chaldean entrepreneur goes primetime
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.
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Chaos Begets Opportunity
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.
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PizzaPapalis closes original Greektown location
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.
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Too Big To Care?
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.
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Flooding Woes
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.
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Entrepreneurs launch creative business during pandemic
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.
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Events and Travel Businesses Face Hard Road Back to ‘Normal’
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.
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The Future of Fitness
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.
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WFH is a Mixed Bag
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.
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Urban Air
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…
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Cocktails to Go: Creative Liquor Laws Help Retailers, Restaurants
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…
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Life by Design
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.
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Starting Fresh
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.
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Flying High with Apogee Air
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.
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Fueling a Passion for Naturopathic Foods
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.
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Bring on the Zaffa with Zaffet Joseph Entertainment
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.
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King of Cakes
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.
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Arkin's brings the barbecue
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.
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