FAMILY OWNED & OPERATED. always made with love.

Located in Madisons Heights, MI, Asya Middle Eastern Cuisine has a rich history based in the love for delicious food.

My name is Ameel Ibrahim, the owner of Asya Middle Eastern Cuisine. I am proud to announce that our restaurant  is now family owned & operated by my wife Reta and I.

Without your support of our restaurant, it would be very difficult to be where we’re at right now. I left my home and traveled to another country for 6 years, all because I was almost kidnapped. I lived there with my family and after 4 years... I had lost my father. This was the most difficult time that I have ever been through. My father’s last words to me were,
“I know you’re a grown young man and you can face all of lifes difficulties. You will be very successful if you want to, take care of our family well son.”

After this message from my father, I had become so strong that I faced every obstacle on my own. After 2 years, I had a chance to migrate to the U.S.A. I accepted this offer to move on with my life. There was no such thing as going back to my home. So, I came to the United States with my mother with nothing but the clothes on our backs.

I had to find a job as soon as possible to survive. Luckily, Asya was hiring. I was excited to learn that it was only one mile away from where I was living. I walked to work for 6 months until I saved up enough money to buy myself a car. One of the restaurant cooks was so impressed by my work ethic that he offered to teach me everything he knew about the business. 

From then on, I had to put in a lot of effort to learn everything in the kitchen. I was focused on proving myself. So foused that I eventually became a chef and worked the cookline. I kept working and working… for 10 years. 

Some time passed and the previous owner had decided to sell Asya. She told me, “you are the best fit to be the owner of this restaurant.” From that moment I was very nervous — yet very happy. I was not sure how I would be able to manage everything on my own. But, my wife Reta was supportive to the point that I was comfortable taking on this business endeavor. I was confident knowing that I was going to have her by my side. I knew in my heart that we would succeed together. 

After we talked about everything, the COVID-19 pandemic struck in March. So, the original owners decided to close the restaurant for 3 months. Reta and I sat down together to make our final decision on wether we would take over the restaurant, or not. We had faith in my customers and our food. We aknowledged that we served a lot of people that would be upset if we shut down permanently.

So, we trusted our instincts and bought Asya in the most difficult time... amidst a pandemic. We followed through with the buying process and reopened the restaurant to the public on June 15, 2020.  We were so excited, but we also had fear in our hearts that our customers potentially forgot about us during the shutdown. 

To our good fortune — it was the complete opposite. All of our customers would come in and say, “we are so glad you’re back.” We bounced back stronger than ever before. All because of your love and support for our restaurant.

We are excited and proud to serve each and every customer that helps keep our family business alive.