When Hamissi Mamba fled Burundi to come to the United States in 2015, he had no idea he’d end up in Detroit.

Though he didn’t know it at the time, he’d soon come to realize that he had landed in the Motor City not by chance but by fate.

Mamba and his wife, Nadia Nijimbere, are refugees from the East African country Burundi. They’re also the owners of Detroit’s Baobab Fare and two-time James Beard Award nominees, and Mamba is now a “celebrity” chef after winning an episode of the Food Network’s Chopped Baobab Fare became an instant culinary classic after opening in Detroit’s New Center neighborhood in 2021. The restaurant serves classic East African dishes that Mamba ate growing up in Burundi, like nyumbani (slow-simmered beef with fried plantains and rice) and intore (eggplant stew).

They initially had no intention of opening a restaurant. Back home, Nijimbere was a human rights lawyer and Mamba a businessman. “I always say that [opening Baobab Fare] was a survival plan,” Mamba said. “Growing up, my mom said, ‘You have to go to school and get a good job.’ We had jobs in Burundi, so you have that illusion that ‘I will get a job in the United States; opportunity is everywhere; it’s the best country in the world.’ But starting out, nobody would hire me or Nadia for what we went to school for because our degrees were from Burundi.”

After winning a Hatch Detroit grant for $50,000 in 2017, the couple decided to get serious about opening a brick-and-mortar for Baobab Fare, which had previously been a pop-up. But the restaurant almost didn’t materialize as Mamba and Nijimbere had trouble getting asylum to stay in the United States. “2016 was a tough year for us because we didn’t have asylum … at that time it wasn’t easy for immigrants to get asylum to stay in the country,” Mamba said. “The plan for us was to seek asylum in Canada, but after 2017 we finally got it. It felt like a miracle for us in that moment.”

Now the facade of Baobab Fare proudly proclaims to all who pass by, “Detroit Ni Nyumbani,” which means “Detroit is home.”

Giving Back

Baobab Fare’s Hamissi Mamba and Nadia Nijimbere pay it forward by using their newfound success to help others. Most recently, Mamba donated his $10,000 prize from the TV show competition Chopped to Freedom House Detroit, where Nijimbere stayed when she first came to the city. Freedom House supports and empowers refugees, asylum seekers and others in need of humanitarian protection with a series of comprehensive services — and provides an inclusive and welcoming physical safe space. In addition, the couple actively support Burundi Kids, a nonprofit organization that champions health and education for women and children in Burundi.

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