Family and friends remember Sam Hakim

ST. CLAIR SHORES — Sam Hakim Sr., owner of the family business Emily’s Delicatessen, is being remembered as a strong presence in the city who brought friendship, humor and generosity to his family, friends and customers. 

Hakim died Nov. 21 at Henry Ford St. John Hospital in Detroit from diabetes complications. He was 70.

Many people are paying their respects over social media to Hakim, who was a large part of the community as he welcomed shoppers to the family’s delicatessen for decades. He greeted everyone with a sincere smile and was known as a father figure and mentor. And he was never without his apron.

“He was a people person. He loved the people,” his sister Mary “Tootsie” Brazier said. “He had so many friends he met through the store.”

Emily’s, on Greater Mack Avenue south of Nine Mile Road in St. Clair Shores, specializes in Lebanese cuisine and was a family business that Hakim and Brazier’s parents, Joseph and Emily, started in 1971. There were six children in all, including Roy, Joanie, Maroun and Emma. In the early days, Emily’s didn’t have a kitchen, so the family cooked the meals at their home in Detroit and then drove them to the store. 

The family’s business sense — combined with delicious ethnic meals and good service — made them a longtime staple in the south end of the city. The Hakims soldiered on when patriarch Joseph died in 1974. 

Emily’s has been in the same location since it opened. All of the food is prepared fresh daily, and the establishment is known as the “home of the meat pie.” Other favorite dishes are spinach pies, chicken pies, stuffed grape leaves, baklava, kibbe and vegetarian options.

The hard work from Hakim, who earned a business degree from University of Detroit Mercy, was one reason behind Emily’s success. The family members worked different shifts at the store, which sometimes stayed open until 11 p.m. Many times, Hakim — who Brazier said was a prankster — would check up on her when she was working the night shift. 

“It was like an ongoing joke,” Brazier said. “He’d pull up in the middle lane on Mack to make sure I was working.”

One task Brazier did often was wipe down the spice lids. 

“Back then you didn’t have cellphones. He’d go to the phone booth and call me,” she remembered, adding that he joked that dusting off the lids was all she did, but he knew she did much more than that. “He was always my sidekick and I was his.”

The family grew when Hakim met and married “the love of his life” Mary Jane. The couple had five sons: Joseph, Matthew, Anthony, Sam Jr. and Christopher. Mary Jane died before him, and Brazier retired from the store in 2015 when family matriarch Emily died. 

In the spring of 2024, Hakim developed an infection that required him to stop working. Despite his condition, he planned to eventually return to what he was known for: helping customers at Emily’s. 

“He was ready to go back to work,” Brazier said. “That was his goal.” 

But his health didn’t improve. 

According to his obituary at wasikfuneralhome.com, Hakim was also preceded in death by his brother Maroun and his sister Emma. He had nine grandchildren and 18 nieces and nephews.

Emily’s will remain open for business. Sam Jr. has already stepped into his father’s shoes to carry on the store’s legacy.

“My mom taught him everything after he graduated from college,” Brazier said. “He’s the next generation. He’s the new generation.”

Mike Karschnia grew up down the street from Emily’s.

“I went in the store all the time. Sam looked after me,” Karschnia said. “He was a lot of things to a lot of people.”

Karschnia continued on as a regular customer into adulthood.

“I wish every young man could have a Sam Hakim in their life to guide them and to help him and to offer advice,” Karschnia said. 

David Rubello, an advertising representative for the St. Clair Shores Sentinel newspaper, first met Hakim in 1986 when Emily’s placed ads in the paper. The two shared a close friendship for many years that was part business and part brotherhood.

“It’s a big loss not only for the community here but for the Lebanese American community,” said Rubello, also a member of the St. Clair Shores City Council. “He was a very helpful person. He had a big heart. If you asked him, he’d do anything for you. Always a guy with helpful advice. He’d open his pocketbook if you needed it.”

Whenever Rubello went into Emily’s — either to sell advertising or as a customer — Hakim “was always at the store.” Rubello said he worked “from sunup to sundown.”

“One heck of a legacy to leave,” Rubello said. “His charm and charisma made you feel like your brother. I truly lost a friend. He took me to see Elton John, Paul McCartney. He was always someone to rely on. I’ll miss him.”

According to wasikfuneralhome.com, visitation for Sam Hakim Sr., is from 1-8 p.m. Nov. 30 with a rosary at 2 p.m. Wasik Funeral Home is located at 49150 Schoenherr Road in Shelby Township.

Hakim will lie in state at 10 a.m. and a funeral Mass is scheduled for 11 a.m. Dec. 1 at St. Sharbel Maronite Church, 43888 Hayes Road in Clinton Township. He will be interred at Resurrection Cemetery in Clinton Township. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Sharbel Maronite Church.

During the road construction on Schoenherr Road, the north Schoenherr driveway for the funeral home will remain open and there is access to the funeral home parking lot through the parking lot of Macomb Christian Church 13845 22 Mile Road, the website states.

Call Staff Writer Maria Allard at (586) 498-1045.