Immigrants thrive in business, share American culture

METRO DETROIT — The United States of America is the melting pot of people and cultures: a nation built on the dreams of people who came here from around the world, often to escape persecution.

Three business owners in C & G’s coverage area recently took the time to share their stories of how they found their dream through hard work, determination, and dedication in America.

‘If you apply yourself, you can make it’

Johnette Eggert, owner of Elite Bridal and Donate a Gown USA Int’l in Farmington Hills, came to the U.S. 30 years ago to escape the civil war in her native Liberia.

“I think it was the best decision they made for me,” Eggert said of her parents’ decision to bring her to the U.S.

She said she knows Africa and recalled seeing people get lined up and slaughtered in Liberia. She said people from Africa would be grateful just to be here in the U.S. and to have the chance to obtain their dreams.

“It’s America, and the whole world fits in America. America is a big enough light. You go to Liberia, and people would give anything in the world to come here. Even if they’re sleeping on the street, they know that they can go to the church and get food. You can go and get a job. If you apply yourself, you can make it,” Eggert said.

She said entrepreneurship runs in her blood. Her parents founded the Richard M. Nixon Academy in 1965, a private school in Liberia for children in kindergarten through 12th grade. Eggert said she believes education is the key to success for anyone. She also strives to help provide food to the community by donating to Cares in Farmington Hills.

Through the bridal shop, Eggert said she hopes to help local youth continue their education by providing scholarships. She also wants to support the schools her parents started in Liberia, where a teacher makes $25 and a principal, $75.

It was her father’s kindness and generosity to those less fortunate that ultimately spared his life in Liberia. Eggert’s father, John Woolu, worked for the Liberian government and was on a hit list. However, the hitman who was assigned to assassinate her father recognized him and recalled how he had fed him as a young boy, when his family was homeless. So instead of killing him, he took her parents to the border, where they were able to return to the U.S.

Eggert said the business was a dream of hers after working as a substitute teacher in Madison Heights for many years and hearing girls repeatedly say how they wished there was an affordable store where they could shop for high-end dresses.

“I had a dream and for months and months, I kept thinking about the dream, and I kept thinking about the vision, and what I would hear the students say about how they wished they had a place that was fancy and had a set up that wasn’t like a thrift store, but still be getting a resale item that was high end, and I was like, ‘I can do that.’ And here it is,” she said.

 

‘The feeling of brightness and happiness was the first feeling I had’
Jenny Wu, who owns three Chinese restaurants, came to the U.S. as a child in 1981 to escape political turmoil in her native China.  Her family was labeled as traitors to the country by the Communist Party.

“There was a lot of changes. I noticed the streets were brighter. The streetlights just made it seem like America was really beautiful,” Wu said of her initial impression of America. “Back in the day in China wasn’t like how it is now. They didn’t allow people to have lights or have anything really. The streets were always dark at night. So that alone, just entering into the United States, the feeling of brightness and happiness was the first feeling I had.”

She said initially, a language barrier caused her family to struggle with employment for a while. She said they only came to the U.S. with approximately $30 and two suitcases.  Eventually, her mom started one of the restaurants Wu owns with a friend in order to help her godson get a green card. However, her mom, a pianist, did not really care for the stress of the restaurant business, and her mom’s godson didn’t care for it, either.  So Wu, who had gone to school at the University of Michigan for organizational studies, which incorporates business with psychology, ultimately took over the business and expanded it. At one point, she owned four restaurants across metro Detroit: JJ Crab House and Lucky Kitchen, in Ann Arbor; Sapporo Hibachi Steakhouse and Sushi, in Livonia; and her largest one, Wasabi Japanese Steakhouse, in Novi.  After 13 years in Novi, she closed the restaurant this year but still maintains her other locations.

Wu said she has faced some challenges as an immigrant business owner over the years, especially when there was the SARS epidemic, which originated from Hong Kong.

“SARS was a big challenge for me. A lot of people didn’t want to come eat Chinese food,” said Wu. “Also, back in 1993 when I started it, a lot of people saw Chinese food as really unhealthy. So yeah, there’s always challenges.”

‘This is something that, at one point, my kids can be part of it’

Mariana Steganha co-owns the Biggby Coffee franchise location in Lathrup Village with her husband, Rodrigo.

Originally from Brazil, she came to the U.S. with her husband, who had a temporary work assignment in 2016. She said he was offered a full-time position with his company in the U.S., and ultimately, they ended up staying stateside.

Steganha said that after the birth of her second child, they decided that a traditional 9-5 job was not something that was suitable for her anymore. They decided to look into franchising their own business.  Steganha said their neighbor is the area representative for Biggby franchise locations and asked if they were interested in opening one. Since coffee is such an important part of Brazilian culture, they thought it was the perfect type of business to get involved in.

“My husband thought it was a good idea to own a business and long term, we would have more time for our family, too,” Steganha said. “This is something that, at one point, my kids can be part of it.”

They opened the franchise in November 2024. She said she really has enjoyed getting to know the community through the business.

Like Wu, Steganha said that the biggest challenge she had when coming to the country was the language barrier.  She said her husband spoke the language well, but she didn’t. She did, however, have a foundational understanding of the written language and was able to learn it by submersion with her first job in the U.S.

“I got to learn how to communicate. I had to face challenges like talking to people over the phone, especially angry customers, with some delayed orders, for example. So you know customer service, so I was the first one to take the heat,” she said. “So that brought me a lot of experience. For me, when I’m here at the cashier talking to people, that’s something that I really appreciate because it’s how everything started for me when I started my career path.

“I like that, and people get curious and say, ‘Hey, where are you from? I noticed your accent,’ and we start to get to know each other,” Steganha said.

She said getting to know the community and her staff is her favorite part of owning the coffee shop.  She said she has learned a lot from both her customers and her staff.

Wu has been in the restaurant industry for years and said that her Novi customers have continued to frequent her Livonia locations. Eggert and Steganha, who recently opened their businesses, said that they just want people to know they exist.