Hamisi Mamba grew up in Burundi, a small East African country between the Democratic Republic

of Congo and Tanzania.

When he was a kid, his mom owned a small restaurant.

There, he learned to cook and over time, it became a passion.

But Hamisi's mom didn't want him following in her footsteps.

My mom didn't want me to stand the kitchen and to cook and to be a chef.

She didn't want that.

And she was like, go to school, find a degree.

I don't want you to do the job that I'm doing.

So as he got older, Hamisi Mamba decided he would go to business school instead of becoming a chef.

But as Hamisi came into adulthood,

Arundi was going through a lot of political turmoil.

There was even a civil war.

The tension in their home country led to Hamisi and his wife Nadia,

seeking asylum in the U.S.,

and eventually making a home for themselves in Detroit.

There, as an asylum seeker trying to find his way in a strange new world, chef mamba leaned

on what he knew best to make it in America.

He and his wife together created Bawab Fair, a restaurant not just serving up the most delicious

plates East African cuisine has to offer, but also dedicated to improving the lives of people

in Detroit and in Burundi.

So the intention is like, you come in, it's like, either this is Detroit or this is Africa,

...