Detroit egg rolls, Downtown Boxing Gym, Detroit People's Food Co-op

This Week on One Detroit:

The history of corned beef egg rolls, an iconic dish originating in Detroit

Detroit journalist and Metro Times restaurant critic Tom Perkins knows Detroit-style egg rolls. As Perkins has reported, the root of it all was corned beef, made popular in Detroit a century ago.

“There’s a big Jewish population in Detroit,” Perkins said. “They opened all these corned beef shops and then the Jewish folks left town, African American folks moved into the neighborhoods, enjoyed corned beef so some of the restaurants that were there that have been around for 60 years stayed in business.”

In the late 1970s, a woman from Vietnam, Kim White, started putting corned beef into egg roll wrappers and fried them up. She called them Asian corned beef egg rolls and now has several stores around the city. She’s generally credited with inventing the dish.

More recently, other corned beef egg rolls have popped up around metro Detroit. An Allen Park restaurant, Sista Roles Street Eats sells extra-large egg rolls full of different fillings served on a stick like a corndog, with varieties that include chicken broccoli alfredo, chicken and beef shawarma, chicken fajita, lamb, stuffed salmon and veggie hibachi. Food aficionados nationwide are taking note.

One Detroit Senior Producer Bill Kubota explores the history of the dish that has evolved into a deep-fried multicultural array of different food presentations across the Motor City – a story that’s Truly Detroit.

Downtown Boxing Gym’s culinary curriculum teaches children cooking skills and nutrition

Every day after school, hundreds of kids head to Downtown Boxing Gym on Detroit’s east side to shoot some hoops, get help with their homework or hit the boxing ring. They’re also having fun in the organization’s new commercial kitchen making nutritious meals with a well-known Detroit chef. 

Molly Mitchell, the former owner of Detroit diner Rose’s Fine Food, became Downtown Boxing Gym’s associate director of culinary arts in January. Mitchell’s role includes preparing fresh meals and snacks for students each night, totaling more than 1,000 meals per week.

She’s also developing a culinary arts curriculum by teaching basic cooking skills and healthy meals that kids can make at home. The nonprofit offers free academic and athletic programs, electives and mentorship to youth ages 8-18, with continuing mentorship and support through 25.

“My goal is to build out a program that is not only really informative, that if someone wanted to go get a job in a restaurant, they could after taking this program,” Mitchell said. “But really, I’m just trying to cement an excitement for food that can be a lifelong passion, whether you’re working in a restaurant or you just like learning how to cook amazing meals for yourself and your loved ones.” 

BridgeDetroit’s Micah Walker and One Detroit’s Chris Jordan stopped by the Downtown Boxing Gym to watch Mitchell teach students some new skills in the kitchen. Plus, Walker talked with Mitchell and Downtown Boxing Gym founder and CEO Khali Sweeney about the program and how it fits into the gym’s larger mission.

This spring, a Black-led, cooperatively owned grocery store opened in Detroit’s North End neighborhood. The Detroit People’s Food Co-op, a $21 million project that’s been years in the making, started welcoming shoppers on May 1 and now has 3,900 members. The Detroit Black Community Food Sovereignty Network (DBCFSN) and Develop Detroit spearheaded the creation of the co-op.

The group’s mission is to provide better access to healthy food and uplift the community. The co-op plans to source fresh produce from Black-run urban farms like DTown Farms, the Oakland Avenue Urban Farm, the Green Boots Project and others. It will also stock food and wellness products from more than 40 local vendors.

“We have a model of 50/50. So, like 50% healthy and organic, 50% clean and conventional. So, you’ll see products that you’re used to seeing right next to products that you are not used to seeing,” Detroit People’s Food Co-op Board President Lanay Gilbert Williams said.

According to United Way’s ALICE Report, which stands for Asset Limited Income Constrained and Employed, around three in four Detroiters may not have access to healthy foods regularly. Detroit has lost roughly a dozen grocery stores in the last decade, Detroit Food Map Initiative Project Director Alex Hill said.

BridgeDetroit reporter Jena Brooker and One Detroit’s Jonathan Shead examine the impact the food co-op will have on healthy food access and economic development in the city. Brooker talks with DBCFSN’s Executive Director Malik Yakini and its Fund Development Director Dr. Shakara Tyler about being more than just a grocery store, but a place where people can increase their understanding of the full process of their food from seed to shelf. Plus, Brooker talks with one of the local vendors, Zella’s Bakery.

One Detroit Weekend: July 12, 2024

This weekend, the African World Festival will feature live music, vendors, community resources and more in Hart Plaza, and the 33rd annual Concert of Colors bring diversity-themed performances to various locations across Detroit.

There are a few places to find art too, like the Wyandotte Street Art Fair and Art in the Park in Plymouth. Plus, don’t miss the Blissfield River Raisin Festival. Watch “One Detroit Weekend” with contributor Cecelia Sharpe of 90.9 WRCJ to find out what else is happening in and around the city this weekend.

Stay Connected:

Subscribe to One Detroit’s YouTube Channel and don’t miss One Detroit on Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 9 a.m. on Detroit PBS, WTVS-Channel 56.

Catch the daily conversations on our website, Facebook, Twitter @OneDetroit_PBS, and Instagram @One.Detroit