a shared kitchen space in
Southfield. As the business
grew, a website was established,
and Roumayah began fulfilling
catering and wholesale orders,
the cookie business got to a
point where it needed its own
roof over its head.
“We worked like that for
about two or three years prior to
opening our first retail location
in Ferndale,
” Roumayah says.
The Ferndale flagship opened
its doors to the public in 2017,
becoming an instant hit in the
Metro Detroit community and
beyond.
“Everyone was so supportive,
”
Roumayah recalls. “My whole
goal was to be a neighborhood
joint where people would come
in for their morning cup of cof-
fee and/or afternoon cookie, and
that truly happened.
”
A CRASH COURSE IN
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Now, some of Roumayah’s top
clientele at Detroit Cookie Co.
are also her closest friends.
Yet launching the business
didn’t come without hurdles. “I
wasn’t used to being an entre-
preneur,” she says. “It was a
huge task for me.”
Roumayah put her life
savings into the Ferndale
location, with the hope that
the investment would one day
pay off. “I had to quit my job
when we opened the bakery,”
she continues. “I couldn’t rely
on the steady income I was
used to having.”
As an entrepreneur,
Roumayah says “you do
everything yourself.” The big-
gest challenge, she explains,
was keeping her head up
through the early days with
the belief that she’d eventually
be able to hire help. Taking
that chance, however, was
worth it.
Detroit Cookie Co. con-
tinued to grow. As she had
hoped, Roumayah was able to
hire the help she needed. After
two years of steady sales, she
and Tony began to look for a
second shopfront to scale the
business. In 2021, they opened
a second location in downtown
Ann Arbor, followed by a third
location in Grand Rapids later
that year.
Now, Detroit Cookie Co. is a
sweet-tooth favorite through-
out Michigan and beyond.
They have a steady social
media following and have even
been featured on the Cooking
Channel. Yet Roumayah says
the work is far from done.
“We want to solidify our
franchise model,” she explains.
“We’re hoping to provide the
opportunity for other people
to open Detroit Cookie Co.
across the country.”
The dream, Roumayah says,
is “to be a household brand.”
APRIL 21 • 2022 | 41
Supported through the generosity of The Jewish Fund and the D. Dan and Betty Kahn Family Foundation.
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