The wonderful aroma of baking pepperoni rolls, za’atar and manaeesh freshly baking is the first thing you’ll smell at Roma Bakery.
Ameer Nemer, manager of Roma Bakery, says that his family has owned a bakery in Dearborn for over 10 years and, just two years ago, they decided to expand to Ann Arbor.
It’s all authentic Arabic food and affordable, perfect for the college student budget. The bakery is located just a few miles from Eastern Michigan University, at 4837 Washtenaw Ave.
One of the popular items on Roma’s menu is the manaeesh, a mixture of mozzarella and provolone cheese baked to excellence in a brick oven. Ahmed Al-Shehmani, Roma’s baker from Ann Arbor, told us that before he began working here, his family used to go to Dearborn every weekend just to get fresh manaeesh from the Dearborn location.
But not everything has been going great for Roma Bakery, due to the poor winter weather and location. It’s not within walking distance of EMU, and the bakery does not deliver.
On-campus students such as Sarah Trump have eaten at the bakery and had a great experience. “I used to love going to Roma Bakery in Dearborn, and when I moved out here, I just thought, ‘How am I supposed to get my manaeesh?’ Then Roma Bakery opened up on Washtenaw, which was cool anytime outside of winter. But sadly, since we’ve had such a rough winter, I just don’t get it unless I can get a ride up there. Now that it’s closing, I won’t be able to have the one thing that reminded me of home around here.”
It’s not only students living on-campus that have had this problem. Commuter student Chloe Whitehouse, who had just started going to Roma recently, was severely disappointed when she heard that they were getting ready to close.
“I literally went there for the first time in January and I’ve been stopping by after my classes almost everyday,” Whitehouse said. “It was so affordable and so perfect. I really hope they don’t end up closing. I need Roma in my life.”
