Detroit, MI
Saffron De Twah Brings Moroccan Cooking To Detroit
Chef Omar Anani’s Moroccan restaurant in Detroit serves as his launching pad: expect two more ethnic … [+]
Chef Omar Anani, who is involved in the James Beard Foundation’s Taste of America program, started with a food truck in Detroit, which led to his opening Saffron De Twah, a Moroccan restaurant in 2019. Indeed his restaurant was also a semi-finalist for the James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant in 2020. But why is it called De Twah and not Detroit?
Anani says De-twah is the French pronunciation of Detroit, which was acquired in the Louisiana purchase and Morocco was a French colony well into the 1900’s. Hence its name signifies Detroit’s history as well as the French influence on the Moroccan culture.
Anani, who was raised in Grand Rapids, Mich., and fell in love with cooking at a young age, graduated from the Art Institute for Culinary School, which brought him to Detroit, where he has been ensconced since.
To create food that was accessible for the masses, he launched a food truck, first called Qais and then rebranded as Twisted Mitten. It was one of the first Halal food trucks in Detroit and was financed by a loan from his parents, which helped buy the truck.
Farm to Street Approach
Anani calls it “farm to street” food because he’d buy local ingredients, and when he ran out of food, he’d run to the local farmer’s market to replenish it and devise new dishes spontaneously. Cooking on the run indeed.
Twisted Mitten flourished, which led him to owning several food trucks including Fat Panda Kitchen, Grill Billies BBQ, Un Poco Loco and a hot dog cart, though currently only Twisted Mitten is operating.
Catering Produces 50% of Revenue
When his parents loaned him money to buy the building to store his various food trucks, he turned it into Saffron De Twah. It accommodates 15 people inside, but has a patio space which seats around 75 people. Its revenue stems 50% from catering, covering many corporate events, board meetings, and graduation parties, 35% from the restaurant itself and 20% from take-out and delivery.
A Palestinian chef in Detroit is building a following with his Moroccan eatery that is leading to two new spin-offs.
He describes its menu as “Moroccan cuisine with African influences” so it’s more African than it is Mediterranean or Middle Eastern. Some of its specialties include the Moroccan chicken sandwich and Moroccan fish sandwich.
Moroccan Chicken Sandwich
Its Moroccan chicken sandwich almost led to its downfall. He describes it as a “massive jumbo whole thigh, brined in peppers, cilantro and seasonings, and then breaded with panko to make it crispy, then seasoned with berbere directly out of the fryer.” Then the Rising Stars Academy, a school for autistic and disable adults, make the challah bun.
Originally it charged $8 for this massive sandwich, but when the Popeyes crispy chicken sandwich craze started, customers, seeing its cut-rate price, were coming in droves to order 10 to 20 at a time. When they ran out of chicken early one day, they decided to retire the chicken sandwich, before it ran the restaurant out of business. Six-hundred people showed up at its retirement party.
Its Moroccan fish sandwich, now made with basa fish, and smothered in green chermoula sauce, is another best-seller.
And Anani is a chef on the rise. He’s developing two new restaurants, both in its existing neighborhood One will specialize in Palestinian cuisine, which will celebrate Anani’s roots, and the other will reflect its neighborhood, and will have subsidized housing in apartments above the restaurant for its employees.
The Taste for America program involves about 20 events in 2024 and 2025 includes walk-around tastings with food as well as 10 pop-up dinners. The events attract mostly foodies, food enthusiasts and fans of the chef, says a spokesperson for the James Beard Foundation
At the Taste of America event in New York City that Anani participated in, he served warbat, a cheesy bread pudding, which is how his family made it in Jerusalem. It included a crispy flakiness of its dough, a creamy filling, and preserved lemon for tartness.
“To be able to show case my people’s Palestinian food creates the ability for people to find commonalities and new experiences that enhances a richness in life,” Anani concludes.
Detroit, MI
Terrion Arnold ‘maintains complete innocence’ in kidnapping, theft case
I represent Mr. Terrion Arnold in connection with an incident that allegedly occurred on February 4, 2026, in Tampa, Florida, which resulted in the arrest of five individuals on serious felony charges.
To be clear, Mr. Arnold had no involvement whatsoever in the activities that led to those arrests. He did not participate in, nor was he present for, any conduct related to the alleged offenses. There is no evidence in police reports, text messages, or witness statements that implicates Mr. Arnold in any way.
In fact, after direct communication with the lead prosecutor, it has been confirmed that no charges have been filed against Mr. Arnold in connection with this matter.
Recent media coverage has referenced an Order issued by Circuit Judge J. Logan Murphy, which improperly suggests Mr. Arnold’s involvement in the incident. That same Order also incorrectly identifies Ms. Devalle as Mr. Arnold’s girlfriend. Both assertions are false, misleading, and entirely unsupported by the record.
Mr. Arnold categorically denies these unfounded claims and maintains his complete innocence. He was not involved in the crimes allegedly committed on February 4, 2026, in Tampa, Florida.
We strongly urge members of the media to refrain from perpetuating inaccurate or speculative narratives. The facts are clear, and they do not support any claim of wrongdoing by Mr. Arnold.
Detroit, MI
Robert ‘Fish’ Jenkins helped Detroit students soar in sports and life
There was a time when many Historical Black Colleges had swimming teams. The late Robert ‘Fish’ Jenkins benefited from that era and then he spent much of his adult life lifting up youths in Detroit.
Black heritage tours teach travelers what they missed in history class
So much of America’s Black history isn’t taught in schools, but travelers can learn about some of those experiences on the road.
Cody Godwin, USA TODAY
The celebration of Black History Month throughout February provides an opportunity to share stories about Detroiters that have positively impacted the lives of others in a variety of ways.
And included among those stories that have been shared this month is a “Fish” story that is unique, without exaggeration.
That is because this story is about the late Robert “Fish” Jenkins Sr., a longtime Detroit educator and a groundbreaking coach, whose superpower was his ability to create life-changing opportunities for young people in unconventional spaces.
In 1969, Jenkins arrived at Detroit’s Northern High School as a physical education teacher and coach. During Northern’s heyday, the high school, formerly located on Woodward Avenue at Owen in the city’s North End, produced a host of high-profile sports stars, including basketball greats Bill Buntin — a two-time All-American center at the University of Michigan during the 1960s — and Derrick Coleman — the first overall pick in the 1990 NBA draft. And record-breaking sprinter Marshall Dill, Track & Field News’ High School Athlete of the Year in 1971, who set world records in the 300-yard dash while running for Michigan State University.
However, Jenkins specialized in coaching sports that were a little less popular among young people in Detroit, particularly Black students. Jenkins coached teams at Northern — and for one year at East English Village Preparatory Academy after he retired from teaching in 2001 — to 24 Detroit Public School League championships in swimming, golf and soccer.
“No matter what the sport was, he had the formula to make a team a champion,” Robert Jenkins Jr. said about his father, who died on Jan. 14 at the age 86.
“But more than that, my father had a profound impact on the minds of every student he touched. He brought golf, and all the lessons golf teaches, to the North End. And, in the summer, he had members of the swim team teach the younger kids in the neighborhood how to swim, which taught his swim team members how to give back to the community.”
During the evening of Feb. 22, Robert Jenkins Jr. took pride in sharing stories about young people who were coached and mentored by his father across multiple decades that went on to become “doctors, educators, business leaders, and parents” that have made positive contributions to the city of Detroit.
Robert Jenkins Jr. also described some of the friendly interactions that his dad had with notable people like U.S. Olympic sprint champion Wilma Rudolph and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Dick Barnett at Tennessee State University, where the elder Jenkins received the education and training that he needed to teach and coach student-athletes in Detroit.
But earlier that day, an equally compelling “Fish” story was told by another community member.
“Mr. Jenkins was a very important person in my life and he is one of the reasons why I have always tried to do my part when it comes to providing opportunities for young people in our city,” said Gary Peterson, who has coached young swimmers in Detroit for 47 years, including at Detroit’s King High School, where he coaches boys and girls swimmers today.
Long before Peterson coached high school swimmers — and youth swimmers of virtually all ages when he was a full-time swimming instructor for the city of Detroit’s Recreation Department — Peterson was on the swim team at King High School (Class of 1974), when Robert Jenkins Sr. came into his life.
“There were coaches at other schools that helped young swimmers that wanted to improve and go to another level, and Mr. Jenkins was one of those coaches,” said Peterson, who was coached at King High School by Clyde James, a lifelong friend and teammate of Jenkins on the Tennessee State University swimming team during the late 1950s and early 1960s, when they brought national attention to the school’s swimming program.
“Mr. Jenkins would make his pool at Northern available to students from other schools that wanted to get in extra practice. Then, as I got closer to going to college, Mr. Jenkins was the person who introduced me to the colleges that were recruiting Black high school swimmers.
“At that time, there were more than 20 HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) that had competitive swimming programs. Today, there is only one (Howard University in Washington, DC). But back then, Mr. Jenkins wanted to make sure we had the opportunities and exposure, which included sending a small group of us to South Carolina State for a recruiting trip.
“Afterwards, Mr. Jenkins even came over to King from Northern to present me with my scholarship to South Carolina State, while I was sitting in a King classroom. I couldn’t believe it and I was ecstatic, but everything that he did for me and other young swimmers in the city he did so willingly. And that’s what I always thought I was supposed to do as a coach.”
Peterson said he would do even more with Jenkins when Peterson returned to Detroit from Orangeburg, South Carolina, after graduating from college.
“In the late 1980s, a team I was coaching at Johnson Recreation Center and Mr. Jenkins’ team at Northern, traveled to Washington DC as one team in February to compete in the Black History Invitational Swim Meet. And that tradition of Detroit competing as one team at that meet continued every year until COVID,” said Peterson, who also recalled that Jenkins coached softball and even junior varsity football for a time, in addition to swimming, golf and soccer.
“Just as Mr. Jenkins thought it was critical for us to come together and take our kids to DC for that swim meet because it was the biggest showcase for Black swimmers, he wanted all the young people he coached to have good training and exposure. And in my case, as the son of sharecroppers, I can say that Mr. Jenkins inspired me as well, as a swimmer and a coach.”
Every time Peterson walks into King High to coach the current group of swimmers at the school, he said he is reminded of Jenkins and other important people that paved the way for Black swimmers in Detroit.
For example, in 2023, the natatorium at King was rededicated as the Clyde James Natatorium by the Detroit Public Schools Community District. Peterson says the renaming was not only a salute to James, who was a finalist in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Championships in the 100-yard butterfly during the 1960-61 season while swimming for Tennessee State, but also a tribute to the fabled swimming program that was once housed at the Brewster Recreation Center, which helped to develop James, Jenkins and many other Detroit swimmers that competed nationally. Brewster’s early swimming program was led by the legendary Clarence Gatliff, an all-city swimmer at Cass Tech during the 1920s.
Another pleasant reminder of the history and evolution of Black swimmers in Detroit that Peterson sees when inside King High is 54-year-old Robert Jenkins Jr., an educator like his father, who is teaching personal finance this school year at King and hopes to honor his father’s legacy this summer by offering a swimming and golf program to students.
“I want to make sure that Detroiters understand my father’s legacy,” said Jenkins, a 1989 graduate of Northern High School, who explained that his father and mother (Norma Jean Jenkins) taught him and his sister (Dr. Marlo Rencher) that “we don’t half do anything.”
And that includes community service.
“My father was a servant leader and he would offer encouragement to any young person he was around, not just the students he coached. And paying it (that support) forward was a lesson he always taught in the process.”
Scott Talley is a native Detroiter, a proud product of Detroit Public Schools and a lifelong lover of Detroit culture in its diverse forms. In his second tour with the Free Press, which he grew up reading as a child, he is excited and humbled to cover the city’s neighborhoods and the many interesting people who define its various communities. Contact him at stalley@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @STalleyfreep. Read more of Scott’s stories at www.freep.com/mosaic/detroit-is/. Please help us grow great community-focused journalism by becoming a subscriber.
Detroit, MI
Fox 2 Detroit anchor Amy Andrews updates viewers on her medical leave
TV and newspapers: Detroit media history
The Detroit Free Press has been publishing since the mid-19th century.
Fox 2 Detroit (WJBK-TV) morning news anchor Amy Andrews took to social media on Thursday, Feb. 26, to share with viewers why she has been off the air again.
Andrews posted on Instagram that she is on a “physician-directed medical leave” as she continues treatment for dysautonomia, which she described as “a disorder of the autonomic nervous system that affects things like heart rate, blood pressure, and circulation.”
Wrote Andrews, “For me, it can cause significant dizziness, vision changes, brain fog, and sudden drops in blood pressure, making live television unsafe until it’s properly stabilized.”
According to the Dysautonomia Project, a nonprofit collaborative effort to provide education on the condition, an estimated 70 million people across the globe have some form of dysfunction to the autonomic system that regulates “functions that are automatic in nature such as heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, excretion, perspiration, temperature regulation, pupil dilation, circulation, and respiration” and more.
“Often dysautonomias are invisible illnesses. Patients may not look sick, and yet they have symptoms that make it difficult to work, go to school, and perform activities of daily living,” the collaborative effort says.
Andrews explained on her post that she doesn’t take her decision to step back from work lightly “I love what I do, and I love serving this community. Right now, my focus is following my doctors’ guidance so that I can return safely and consistently.”
She added, “I miss our mornings together more than I can say. Please know I am working hard, I am not giving up, and my goal is to return as soon as I am medically able. Thank you for the incredible support so many of you have shown me over the years. It means everything.”
Andrews received several supportive comments to her posting, including from Local 4 News (WDIV-TV) anchors Rhonda Walker, Karen Drew and Jason Colthorp.
“From your friends and competitors across town: Get well soon. Hope to look up and see your face soon,,” wrote Colthorp.
Andrews, who is an anchor of “Fox 2 News Mornings,” returned to work in September 2025 after an extended absence for what she said at the time on social media were health issues, describing symptoms like “extreme dizziness, balance issues, brain fog and blurred vision.”
Before that, in July 2025, she wrote online to thank staffers at the Michigan Institute for Neurological Disorders (which has several locations in metro Detroit) for taking “amazing” care of her and wrote shortly afterward in August 2025: “My neurologist was able to rule out what would’ve been a devastating diagnosis! … However, that means I move on to different specialists and different tests until we figure this out.”
Andrews has been open about her medical challenges in the past and is also an advocate for mental health awareness. Through social media, she revealed in 2022 and 2024 that she had taken medical leaves to deal with depression and anxiety.In 2021, she underwent back surgery to remove herniated disc fragments in her lower back after an injury suffered during a vacation in Florida.Andrews is an alum of Indiana University, Oakland University and the Specs Howard School of Media Arts. She worked at TV stations in Colorado, Nevada, California and the Flint and Saginaw market before joining Fox 2 Detroit in 2011.
She is involved with many community causes including Gleaners Community Food Bank, C.A.T.C.H Children’s Charity, the Crohn’s Colitis Foundation of America, Habitat for Humanity, the American Heart Association and Angels of Hope, according to her Fox 2 Detroit biography.Contact Detroit Free Press pop culture critic Julie Hinds at jhinds@freepress.com.
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