GARY: Next on Start Up, we head to Detroit, Michigan to meet up with Nadia and Mamba, the owners of Baobab Fare, a restaurant that serves traditional East African dishes from their hometown of Burundi, Africa.

All of this and more is next on Start Up.

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♪ GARY: My name is Gary Bredow.

I'm a documentary filmmaker and an entrepreneur.

As the country continues to recover from extraordinary challenges, small business owners are showing us why they are the backbone of the American economy.

We've set out for our 11th consecutive season, talking with a wide range of diverse business owners to better understand how they've learned to adapt, innovate and even completely reinvent themselves.

♪ This is Start Up.

♪ East African cuisine is a fusion of various culinary traditions with African, Indian, and Arab influences.

Common ingredients used in East African dishes include maize, beans, bananas, plantains, cassava and various meats such as beef, goat, and chicken.

Today I'm heading to Detroit, Michigan to meet up with Nadia and Mamba, the owners of Baobab Fare, a restaurant that serves traditional East African dishes from their hometown of Burundi, Africa.

From what I understand, Nadia and Mamba set out to create a safe space for immigrants and Detroiters alike, where all are welcomed and embraced while sharing Burundi culture and cuisine with their community.

I can't wait to meet these two and learn more about this one-of-a-kind restaurant.

Tell me what it was like growing up in Burundi.

MAMBA: It's very different, obviously, from America because the life is not only for you and your family there so you share life with the community.

It's very common, you know everybody can watch kids around everybody.

You have to say hi to your elders.

You have to respect everybody and then they take care of you.

That is what was my childhood.

Burundi has gone or went through a lot of crisis since the independence.

The ethnic groups... GARY: Mm-hmm.

MAMBA: So there is Tuti and Hutu.

GARY: Tuti, yeah and Hutu, yep.

MAMBA: So been fighting a lot, and that has affected the growth of the economy.

We're still killing each other, unfortunately... GARY: Yeah.

MAMBA: In the same region.

So you can imagine I'm 43 years old, I grew up in that condition.

And then I'm still now being affected and see how this is affecting everything.

The economy... GARY: Yeah.

MAMBA: Being a refugee, and how many people have fled the country or how many people have fled the region.

So youth are starting investing back home and I hope tomorrow is better than today.

GARY: What year did you end up leaving Burundi?

MAMBA: I left in 2015 and Nadia, my wife came in 2013.

So Nadia, she came here, she was pregnant, and then our kids were born there.

GARY: Hmm.

MAMBA: So it means a lot, yeah.

GARY: What was the main reason that you came first?

NADIA: So, the main reason, back home, I was a human right activist.

GARY: Mm.

NADIA: And from my job, the situation get complicated.

GARY: Yeah.

NADIA: And I have to flee the country.

And me being here alone, the goal and the wish was all of us to leave.

GARY: Yes.

NADIA: But couldn't get a visa.

GARY: It took longer than expected.

NADIA: Yes.

Yes.

GARY: Tell me about coming to the United States.

NADIA: It's strong, emotional, nice, bad, good.

It's in everything.

Because I was desperate.

I was really desperate.

I had all those million question in my mind.

GARY: Why Detroit?

(Mamba sighing) Out of the whole country that you could have gone anywhere... MAMBA: I know!

GARY: Why Detroit?

MAMBA: Because Detroit is the only place in the country where you find Freedom House.

And Freedom House is a shelter, the only one in the country where refugees can have legal support, shelter, food, medical assistance in one house.

This organization is a house that's if you're a refugee from around the world, without a call, without appointment, you just come and knock on the door.

GARY: Really?

MAMBA: Yes.

And they open the door.

It is not intimidating.

It's not like formal organization, it's a family.

GARY: Mm-hmm.

MAMBA: It's a family.

You get there, you feel the warm welcome.

You feel the warm of people who are saying hi to you.

And then right away you see people who has the same problem as you.

So it means a lot to me and my family.

'Cause you meet people who has the same story, same pain.

And after, you make it in this country together.

That is incredible.

♪ GARY: What is Freedom House?

TERESA: It is a temporary home and lifetime community for people fleeing war, persecution, violence torture in their home countries.

They come to the United States to seek protection of some sort, and we're there to provide housing and full services for them.

We are truly unique because we provide the community housing here.

It's a 60-bed shelter.

We have about 50 to 55 people at a time.

And on top of that, we provide the in-house legal aid, and then we provide all the wraparound services as well.

So every kind of acculturate service, we provide access to through partners.

So employment preparation, English as a second language.

Here at the house of course, it's shelter, food, clothing.

So yeah, that full battery of services makes us pretty unique and our residents can stay here up to two years.

NADIA: The welcome I got, it changed everything.

GARY: Mm.

NADIA: I remember the director at that time was Mom Deb.

We called her Mom Deb.

She was the mom of everybody.

GARY: Yeah.

NADIA: So she was telling me, "Nadia, I see the fear you have in your eyes, "but you're not alone here.

GARY: Mm.

NADIA: This is your family, your gonna be fine."

So she start calling other people.

I see someone from Congo, someone from Uganda, someone from Tanzania.

I'm like, "Oh, what you guys doing here?"

GARY: Yeah.

NADIA: They said, "Oh, the same thing."

So when I met them, it really changed.

GARY: Yeah.

NADIA: It's really changed.

And then my life started.

GARY: What an incredible testament to the work that you guys do when you see a couple like that.

TERESA: Yeah.

GARY: First Nadia and then Mamba, the way that they were embraced and given support and how highly they speak of this organization.

TERESA: Yeah.

GARY: This is important work that you're doing.

TERESA: Yeah, it is.

And I will tell you, having Mamba and Nadia out there, because Mamba is so enthusiastic and energetic, he has really been, as I was just telling him, a walking billboard for Freedom House Detroit.

And because he's out there and so well connected, more people are hearing our name than we could have ever done without him.

GARY: For people watching this across the country and hearing this story and hearing about what Freedom House does, how could they get involved and help support what you do?

TERESA: I will tell you first and foremost, cash donations.

I know people don't want to hear that.

It's not very sexy, but it is absolutely what keeps us here.

We also need language interpreters and translators.

So if you have a second language.

We also do parties throughout the year for our clients and we need people to adopt those parties and provide supplies.

GARY: You never know who might be watching and may see this as a calling or something that's missing in their life.

TERESA: Yeah, absolutely.

Absolutely.

GARY: How long was it before Mamba actually came and joined you?

You said a year, two years?

NADIA: Two years and six months.

GARY: Okay, and it's my understanding that you actually had twins at that time.

NADIA: Yes.

GARY: What was that experience like?

NADIA: I really cried enough that I don't think I have tears anymore.

GARY: Mm.

NADIA: But now those tears that I left that behind, it make me feel like I'm grateful.

GARY: Yeah.

NADIA: I'm grateful because what I did with the two kids alone, it makes me feel like... GARY: Strength?

NADIA: Yes.

I'm strong.

GARY: Yeah.

NADIA: I raised those kids alone.

It was hard to raise the kids without my husband near me, but I did it.

GARY: What was it like when you first got to the United States?

Was it sort of overwhelming?

MAMBA: I was so excited to start a new life.

I was joining Nadia and the girls, and the kids.

For me, it was in my mind, I was ready to start the new life.

I knew since day one, it's not gonna be easy.

I didn't speak English at the time.

GARY: You didn't speak English?

MAMBA: At all, yeah.

GARY: Wow.

MAMBA: I was shocked, you know, from Burundi, the smallest country in the world to the United States, huge.

The first things I did, I was like I have to speak the language.

I have to know the culture.

I have to know people.

Coming to the United States with a lot of dreams, I have to make it.

GARY: Mm-hmm.

Do you remember when the idea came up to start a restaurant?

NADIA: With the job he was having and the job I was having, every time he will leave, I will go.

I will come.

He will leave.

GARY: Yeah.

NADIA: It was really that hard.

And I love to cook.

I really enjoy to cook.

GARY: Hmm.

NADIA: He's good in selling.

And we were like, maybe the only way to get out of this situation is to open a business.

Maybe one day we're gonna open a business, you will cook.

And I will sell.

I say, "Yeah, why not?"

GARY: Okay.

MAMBA: At the same time, while living at Freedom House, there's a nonprofit here called Prosperous Detroit.

GARY: Mm-hmm.

MAMBA: So Prosperous Detroit had a program at the same time where they were training.

They train people at Freedom House so they can be entrepreneurs.

And from that program, I could see how to open a business.

It's possible.

GARY: Mm.

MAMBA: At the same time, 2017, so there was a contest, a competition called Hatch Detroit.

GARY: Okay.

MAMBA: And me and Nadia we went through that competition.

We won $50,000, from that competition.

GARY: Wow!

MAMBA: And then everything started there.

And we start doing different pop ups around.

GARY: Pop ups, okay.

MAMBA: We will bring our tents and our table on the streets.

We start saving food.

We start sharing food.

So we started it slowly.

GARY: Yeah.

NADIA: I remember remember Mamba telling me, "Do we have this?

Are you in?"

I say, "Yes, I will follow you.

Let's do it."

GARY: Nice.

NADIA: He was the one really, pushing, yeah.

GARY: He pushed.

NADIA: I'm always behind.

I say, "I'll push you.

GARY: Mm-hmm.

NADIA: "I will just help you, whatever you're doing."

So that's how the idea came.

♪ ♪ ♪ GARY: Finding the space and everything.

How incredible was that moment?

MAMBA: We got the building in 2018.

Start pushing, my general contractor was so nice.

After that, we had Covid, so we have to stop everything.

Me and Nadia started saying like, "Okay, everything happened for a reason."

GARY: Yep.

MAMBA: So what we did in Covid, the first check from government, the stimulus check we got, we cooked the food for healthcare workers to say thank you, because at the same time, we're feeling so grateful because we are here.

So we said this is a way to tell people that we still around.

We are gonna open this.

How can we do?

So we start cooking food for our healthcare workers and people start sending us checks.

GARY: So you took your stimulus check and used it to give food away?

MAMBA: Yes.

GARY: That's such a...

I don't know.

Some people would think reverse sort of thinking.

But is it true that the more you give, the more you receive?

MAMBA: Absolutely.

We have seen it.

We have seen it.

So we finished up the build out.

GARY: Mm-hmm.

MAMBA: Everything was good, but we're still in Covid and we were like, we don't wanna survive with just 30% capacity.

This is a new business.

Nobody knows who we are.

Nobody have done this before.

But we had a lot of expenses.

That was, I would say like, we're bleeding financially.

GARY: Mm-hmm.

MAMBA: We had a lot of pain.

We couldn't survive.

And that is how we decided to open.

It was like, at least we can get some dollars coming in so we can start from here.

Our grand opening was in April.

So from there the restaurant went crazy.

Like it was so busy.

GARY: In April '21?

MAMBA: Yes.

GARY: Okay.

MAMBA: So you could see the line outside.

GARY: What?

MAMBA: Business went wild.

Crazy.

We couldn't handle it, but at the same time we had a lot of problems with staffing.

GARY: Yeah.

With staffing, yeah.

MAMBA: Yeah.

We couldn't get people to work.

And at the same time, we were like, our goal, our niche is to hire people from Freedom House, to hire people from immigrants.

GARY: Ahh.

MAMBA: So that was our goal.

And then we start, hiring, getting people from Freedom House, train them and, you know, took us long to get at the point where we are right now.

GARY: Sure.

MAMBA: Where we have a solid team, solid managers, amazing people here giving everything.

That means a lot.

And that's why I love this business because it's not just a restaurant.

It's a place there are people, we gather.

We have more than 10 nationalities working here.

Right?

How many language does we speak in this restaurant, on this business?

A lot.

That's what we love.

♪ GARY: Let's talk about the menu.

NADIA: Back home it's a fufu, like ugali or rice.

GARY: Okay.

NADIA: Those are the base.

GARY: That's the base NADIA: Yes.

GARY: Okay.

NADIA: Everybody, every family have rice and beans.

Sometimes meat or not, but rice and beans.

GARY: Got it.

That's the foundation of the food.

NADIA: Yes.

We make our own sauce.

GARY: Yeah.

NADIA: And we give it to our customer.

But you add it on your own food.

We don't cook with the heat.

So our food has flavor.

GARY: Yeah.

NADIA: Which we do more, the vegetables.

We add some ingredients like the spices... GARY: Mm-hmm.

NADIA: Which make it flavor different to other cuisines.

GARY: What are we gonna prepare today?

NADIA: Today I'm gonna prepare you the goat.

GARY: Goat?

NADIA: The goat dish, yes.

GARY: Okay.

All right.

♪ ♪ ♪ What meat does goat taste the most like?

Goat.

NADIA: Goat.

GARY: Okay.

NADIA: It doesn't have anything that you can compare with the goat.

GARY: It's just goat.

Okay.

NADIA: This is the first thing we run out.

GARY: Really?

NADIA: So, yes.

GARY: People love it.

NADIA: Oh my goodness, yes.

And it takes us like five hours to cook.

GARY: Okay.

NADIA: Once we run out, we're done for the day.

GARY: That's it.

♪ (bell dinging) ♪ I never thought I'd say this to someone I just met, but would you like to share a goat?

CARLOS: I'd be honored.

♪ Cheers.

GARY: Cheers.

Let's do this.

♪ Wow.

CARLOS: Mm.

GARY: That is killer.

CARLOS: The flavors that come out with it, with every single bite.

How you can combine each item on your plate to create a new next step of the flavor.

GARY: Yeah.

CARLOS: This is home on a plate.

Mamba and Nadia have been able to really work themselves into the fabric of our city, by not just being involved with the food community, but being involved with the community at large.

Everybody in the city works hard because we know that the only thing that we have is each other.

GARY: Yeah.

CARLOS: And these two walked in here with their family and said, "We're here for you as well.

GARY: Yeah.

CARLOS: "We're gonna bring what we have, "the passion that we bring "and be a part of something that's greater than we could have ever imagined."

♪ GARY: You have the restaurant and then you have a coffee brand as well?

Talk a little bit about the coffee.

MAMBA: So coffee business came because we wanted to tell the story of Burundi.

GARY: Yep.

MAMBA: Because many people doesn't know Burundi, but when you say coffee, they relate.

"Oh, this is something.

Oh, coffee's from Burundi."

GARY: It's the big industry.

MAMBA: It's a big industry.

Yeah.

And then you touch a lot of people.

So we say, "You know what?

Let's start with coffee."

We did coffee, but we get calls from Burundi to support farmers.

GARY: Yeah.

MAMBA: So that's the goal.

Everything that we do on Soko, that is our retail market... GARY: Mm-hmm.

MAMBA: Is to make sure, like either we highlight people behind it or we give back to them.

That's why you see the stories.

You want to start putting a blog stories about all these people.

It's not about us, it's about people who are behind.

GARY: The coffee is really a platform to tell stories.

MAMBA: Yes.

Exactly.

The coffee is a platform to tell stories.

GARY: Amazing.

MAMBA: And then also to invite people to go to Burundi, to travel the world, to see how much work... GARY: Okay.

MAMBA: They put in the coffee, the cup of coffee.

And then they can appreciate that.

GARY: When was the point that you realized, oh my gosh, this is gonna be a thing?

This is gonna be successful.

NADIA: To say that my business gonna be successful.

I was like, do I have another choice?

GARY: No doubt.

NADIA: I gotta have to make it... GARY: Yeah.

NADIA: Successful.

If you're not here, I'll cook.

If you're not here, I'll serve.

GARY: Yeah.

NADIA: If you're not here, I'll wash the dishes.

I'll mop the floor.

So there is, I don't have doubt, because I'll make sure I'm here every single day.

If I have to open something else I'm building a team that I'm so grateful to have.

They're gonna be here for me.

♪ GARY: Creating awareness.

I mean, you had a line out the door already in April of '21, but have you had to focus a lot on marketing and social media and telling your story?

And how important is it for a business to tell their story?

MAMBA: Burundi concept cuisine was something very new... GARY: Mm-hmm.

MAMBA: In Detroit.

There's a problem there.

So we have to tell who we are, what is the cuisine, what we do.

So you have to bring that transparency.

GARY: Yep.

MAMBA: On the other side, about the misconception of a refugee, of an immigrant.

GARY: What is the biggest misconception that you think in general people have about immigrants and refugees coming to this country?

MAMBA: I came in 2015 and there was a lot of hate around in this country.

It's more about, "They're coming to steal your job.

"They're just here for crime.

They're here for doing bad things."

I'm convinced, I was convinced, and I'm sure 100% we can save a lot of people by telling these stories and by approaching them, we can heal a lot of people who has this disease of hate and racism.

So that is where our marketing and telling our story is very intentionally the way it is because we don't see this as a restaurant only.

GARY: Yeah.

MAMBA: It's a story.

So you have to make sure, like how do you package?

How do you market?

How do you brand that?

And then this is where, how people wanna feel comfortable.

This is how people wanna feel.

They relate to that product, they relate to this food.

And then you've been transparent to tell them the story and you know, share what you have.

GARY: It's a big responsibility you put on your shoulders.

MAMBA: It is a responsibility.

But I always say, imagine if me and Nadia will be in a refugee camp somewhere in Africa.

GARY: Mmm.

MAMBA: Without what we have today, how will be our life?

So it is a responsibility, but I take it as a chance, as an opportunity to be in this moment.

I feel like I have the fear of one day someone or my kids ask me a question.

You had all these opportunities, what did you do for others?

GARY: Yes.

MAMBA: I'm afraid to not find the answer.

And then I think that is my motivation.

Every day when I wake up in the morning I ask myself this question, "What do you do for someone who's still in Freedom House today?"

GARY: Mm-hmm.

MAMBA: What do you do for someone who doesn't have what you have?

GARY: What I guess advice would you have for another person who wants to do it, but has doubt?

NADIA: I'm not gonna say that doubt will never happen.

It will stay there.

But elevate yourself with someone who gonna push you.

I was really scared to say, "You sure?"

But once he say, "Yeah, let's just do it."

GARY: You believe?

NADIA: Yeah, I believe him.

I say, "You know what?

Let's do it."

It was not easy, but it's possible.

We did it.

If we did it, you too can do it.

GARY: Obstacles can be excuses for not pursuing dreams, but we have the power to turn them into opportunities.

Nadia and Mamba overcame significant challenges and still achieved success.

They learned English, worked hard, opened a restaurant and even helped their community during the pandemic.

And did I mention that Mamba won the esteemed Food Network cooking challenge, "Chopped," all with ingredients he's never cooked before.

It seems like there's nothing that these two cannot do.

And their story teaches us about resilience and the importance of understanding refugees' contributions firsthand.

Ultimately, our actions define our worth.

If you want something, hard work and dedication is always the great equalizer, regardless of where you were born.

I feel incredibly honored to share their story, and Nadia and Mamba will undoubtedly continue to have a positive impact on the world.

For more information, visit our website and search episodes for Baobab Fare.

♪ Next time on Start Up, we head to Waterford, Michigan to meet up with Josh and Valerie Clark, the owners of Apogee Air, a company that provides flight training, aircraft management, and pilot services.

Be sure to join us next time on Start Up.

Would you like to learn more about the show or maybe nominate a business?

Visit our website at startup-usa.com and connect with us on social media.

MAN: What is this?

GARY: What happened?

PASCAL: I put the bird strikes on.

GARY: Oh!

WOMAN: Yay!

(laughs) GARY: Alright, thank you so much.

ANNOUNCER: Spectrum Business is a proud supporter of Start Up.

Providing connectivity for small businesses with internet, phone and mobile solutions available.

Information available at Spectrum dot com slash business.

ANNOUNCER: Small businesses are at the heart of Michigan's downtowns and neighborhood business districts.

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation offers programs to both new and existing businesses.

With an abundant workforce and access to statewide resources, Michigan welcomes businesses from around the world.

NADIA: My dad always told me to be passionate about what you do.

and if you're truly passionate about what you do every day, it's not hard work.

ANNOUNCER: More than 60% of sales in Amazon's store come from independent sellers like Nadia at Dumpling Daughter.

Amazon, a proud supporter of Start Up.

ANNOUNCER: Wearing a lot of hats can bog you down.

Thryv, the all-in-one small business management software can help you manage every aspect of your business, from a single screen with one log in and one dashboard.

Thryv is a proud supporter of Start Up.

ANNOUNCER: The first time you made a sale online with GoDaddy was also the first time you heard of a town named Dinosaur, Colorado.

MAN: We just got an order from Dinosaur, Colorado.

ANNOUNCER: Build a website to help reach more customers.

WOMAN: Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, one more.

ANNOUNCER: Learn more at GoDaddy dot com.