JUNE 2023

From left: Halo Fish & Chicken on 7 Mile; Sullaf Restaurant held out for many years but is now closed; B & S Collision is still bumping and painting cars.
CHALDEAN TOWN
continued from page 22
white residents and business owners
left, it gave the Chaldeans an opportunity
and monopoly over certain
businesses such as grocery stores,
supermarkets, and retail stores. They
rushed to fill the void, often popping
up in poor, majority-Black, inner-city
neighborhoods where the residents
had few alternatives for their food and
shopping needs.
African American residents complained
that Chaldean store owners
employed almost exclusively other Chaldeans,
even though they operated in
mostly Black neighborhoods. Their concerns
were aggravated because, in many
cases, Chaldean grocery stores were their
only source of food for miles around.
Similarly, many Chaldeans were
frustrated with the high rates of crime
in Detroit’s inner-city neighborhoods,
leading them to increase security in
their stores, hiring more family members
who they knew they could trust.
Ultimately, Chaldeans and African
Americans in Detroit knew little about
one another, leading to a heightened
distrust that was only amplified by the
tense racial and political atmosphere
in post-1967 Detroit. Tensions between
Chaldeans and African Americans
were already high due to the looting of
numerous Chaldean businesses in the
‘67 riots. In the following years, these
tensions escalated, contributing to the
death of the Chaldean Town project.
Moving On Up
After the glory days in the 1970s, the
neighborhood deteriorated. Crime and
abandonment of property caused by the
crack epidemic during the eighties and
nineties, a common fate for many Detroit
neighborhoods, led to its ultimate
demise. The residents now are typically
only very recent immigrants, holdout
business owners, and the elderly who
cannot afford to move to the suburbs.
An attempt to revive Chaldean
Town was made in the late 1990s,
when the Arab American and Chaldean
Council built their community
center at West 7 Mile and John R. roads.
A later extension that was built across
the street included a charter school.
Other shops and new homes were
planned but never fulfilled. Chaldean
Town was suffering its death throes.
Violent crime was everywhere.
Chaldean Town has emptied out.
What was once a bustling center for
vast numbers of Chaldean immigrants
and their families is a lot quieter now.
The remnants of restaurants like the
Bahi, Tigris, Royal Kabab, and Iraqi
Bakery just down the street are vacant
and fading. The Sacred Heart Catholic
Church and community center buildings
remain, and a few Chaldean families
are currently living on Charleston,
Hershey, and Danbury Streets, but for
the most part, Chaldean Town on 7
Mile in Detroit is no more.
Rising Crime
Like many immigrants before them,
the Chaldeans’ success led them to
seek better neighborhoods in the suburbs
of Macomb and Oakland counties.
Many of them moved on while
the neighborhood was still solid; however,
rising crime and falling police response
accelerated the exodus.
Chaldeans who remember the area’s
apex are saddened and infuriated
by what it has become.
The Last Stand
Perpetuating the unique culinary heritage
is one of the most tangible and accessible
means of letting people know
that the Chaldean way of life in the 7
Mile corridor has not disappeared. A
few still believe; some who hold out
hope stay in the area. Of the dozens
of little businesses on the 7 Mile strip
that catered to the Chaldeans and gave
this area its ethnic flavor and its name,
only three are left.
One is B & S Collision, under new
ownership. Halo Fish and Chicken
across the street is the continuation of
the original Great Lakes Fish and Sea
Food Inc. that was owned by Ramzi
Acho. It is operated by his family members.
Along with S & J Meats, they are
the last businesses standing in the old
Chaldean Town.
Joseph Georgies Kada is the owner
of S & J Meats, a small, old-fashioned
butcher shop on 7 Mile Road that sits
in what was once the heart of Chaldean
Town, across from the Sacred Heart
Church at the northern edge of Detroit.
He is the “J” in the name. His brother
Steve is the “S.” Joseph, a frail 74-
year-old, shows the scars of his years
and the impact of the axe of time. He
looks older than his age — although
still full of life, humor, and in possession
of an extraordinary memory.
You cannot miss him standing
proudly in his shop, dressed in his
white lab coat. According to Joe, the
original S & J founders were Nadir
Shammami and Amir Jarbo. S & J represented
the family initials, which
Steve and Joseph conveniently kept after
purchasing the business. The Jarbo
and Kada family members are historically
the most well-known shepherds
(Shivaneh) and butchers (Kasawah)
in the Chaldean community since the
Tel-Keppe village times.
Kada is pessimistic about his future
in the area. He purchased the business
24 years ago at a time when 90 percent
of his clientele were Chaldean. All the
local coffee shops and restaurants
bought products from him. A few Chaldeans
who have moved across town
still come to his shop, but most have
stopped visiting. “We might not be
here for long,” he laments.
“It is hard to bring people here
because people are not going to drive
here for one business or two businesses,”
says Kada. “We are hanging
in there, but I don’t know how long we
will last. I was going to close shop last
month and might do it any time soon.”
Kada invested long years in the
area. “I love the community, I purchased
and operated two restaurants
in the area (Mosul, owned by Imad
Jarbo and Bahi Restaurant).” Today,
Kada thinks his place will be the last
business left here on 7 Mile. “This is
the last link to the past for people who
grew up here, but we need to shut the
door and get out.”
Sullaf was the last Chaldean restaurant
in Chaldean Town, specializing in
Iraqi food whose history dates to ancient
Mesopotamia. Chef Safaa Momika
stated, “Food is one language that everyone
understands.” The area where the
restaurant was located has emptied out.
Sullaf finally closed its doors in 2022.
“This can’t go on,” said Kada, “and
when we leave, when the last man
standing closes his door, this part of
town will share the fate of Poletown
and Chinatown, and several other oncevibrant
ethnic Detroit neighborhoods
that survive only in the memories of the
suburbanites who once lived there.”
A reality check of the experience of
7 Mile Road years demonstrates that
altogether, Chaldean history has been
an impressive success story. The family
plays a vital role in everyday life of
the new immigrants. Houses were always
full and bursting with young and
old and everything in between. They
were often crowded houses, with daily
visitors and traditions passed down
through generations.
Our traditions and culture continue
to survive and thrive in the US.
It does not matter where we live. It is
the people that make us such a strong
and unbreakable community unit that
breeds love, laughter, happiness, continuity,
and security.
Sources and contributors: Fouad
Manna Bassim Kassab, Adil Bacall,
Architect Mike Sitto, Amir Samona,
Farouk Samona, Joseph Kada,
Chaldean News Archives, Articles
by Kamal Yaldo, Hannah Powel,
John Carlisle-Detroit Free Press, Tom
Perkins, Aaron Foley, Norm Sinclair.
24 CHALDEAN NEWS JUNE 2023