“In Lebanon, my family has a home in the mountains. My two sisters and my dad’s family are there. I was born and raised here in Saginaw, traveling back and forth overseas once a year. I miss my sisters a lot. With the explosion in Beirut and with COVID, I haven’t seen them. It’s so sad, but they’re safe. Some scratches and some bruises, but they’re safe.
I graduated from Arthur Hill and got my Associates Degree in Business from Delta. But then my mother became very sick. Doctors didn’t know what was wrong with her. Her lungs collapsed and she died in front of me three times. She was in a coma for five months. I brought my pillow and my blanket and slept on the floor of the waiting room, 24 hours a day, seven days a week for those five months.
But I also met a lot of amazing people. The staff at St. Mary’s and even the patients were so amazing to me. You learn to love everybody.
I grew to love being in a hospital setting so I said, ‘You know what? I’m going to go back to school to become a nurse.’ So, I got my Medical Assistant’s Degree and I worked in hospitals.
A friend of the family was a fertility doctor in Dubai. They flew me out, and I ended up working for them for four years.
Dubai is, like, 'WOW'.
Imagine a 24-karat gold Lamborghini car on the street…that’s nothing. They have tigers on the passenger seat. It’s an amazing world, it’s beautiful.
At the end of that phase, I said to myself, ‘I have to find somebody. I should get married. I want my child; I want a family. It’s time.’ So, I met somebody, got married, came here, and had my son Jude. He’s the love of my life.
Mom and Dad were like, ‘You need to start your own business. You love helping people. You love giving your all to customers, and to everybody.’ Food was my passion. But I said no, I could never start a business, I don’t know anything about business. And they said, ‘Your food is gold!’
My dad, being a businessman, said, ‘There’s nothing like being an entrepreneur. You’ll grow, you’ll learn to know yourself better.’ And that’s exactly what happened.
When I opened Falafel Hut, it was hard in the beginning! I’m not gonna lie. I didn’t know what I was doing except cooking.
But I said, ‘I’m never going to give up.’
You shouldn’t hesitate on your dreams. It’s gonna be a lot of obstacles, and you might fall. But you’ll get right back up and become smarter, stronger. So, if you have a dream, you have to go after that dream.”
- Nawal Hamd, Falafel Hut Middle Eastern Cuisine
You can visit Nawal at The Falafel Hut inside the SVRC Marketplace Wednesdays through Saturdays, 10 AM to 6 PM.