The Restaurant That Eminem 'Built': Mom's Spaghetti in Detroit

"There's vomit on his sweater already, mom's spaghetti."

That touching lyric about throwing up your mom's dinner comes from Eminem's 2002 song, Lose Yourself, featured in his film 8 Mile.

But the spaghetti didn't stop there. Thanks in part to the incredible success of the movie (and the song), Eminem thought that maybe he'd open just a little pop-up diner and serve spaghetti just like mom used to make.....except, the sauce is supposed to taste like it was leftover until the next day, not freshly made. He makes a good point. How many times have you or your mom made a delicious dinner...then you raid the fridge the next day and it somehow tastes even better: warmed-up in the microwave or cold outta the fridge. Pizza is a good example, or chili, sloppy joes, and goulash. The food just sits for a day and soaks up the spices more thoroughly and the meat gets even more tender.

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According to the Mom's Spaghetti webpage, “This isn’t a sauce that tastes like what your neighbor’s Italian grandma would spend all day simmering. No. This is a clean take on a classic jar sauce, crafted in the straightest manner… honest… legit… not saddled with any nonsense.....born to be served at street level.”

I like this. It's a no-BS approach to a food the majority of us love. No phony lines like “the world's best” or “Michigan's #1”...nah, none of that. Because we know anything that is touted as “the best” or “Number 1” is basically the owner's own words, or just a crock. I appreciate the fact that Eminem took a whole different approach.

Eminem opened his pop-up diner in September 2017 and by September 2021 he opened Mom's Spaghetti stand at 2131 Woodward Avenue in Detroit; he even served the first ten customers himself. There is also a separate room called “The Trailer” which is shaped like a mobile home, filled with Eminem memorabilia and souvenirs.

During the recent pandemic, Eminem arranged to have 400 meals donated to 400 workers at Henry Ford Hospital and Detroit Receiving Hospital. Very cool.

Take a look at the photos below...