Michigan senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed stood in front of a crowd in Macomb County and delivered a verdict that had nothing to do with policy: Amo Sami’s Shawarma, he declared, serves the best shawarma he has ever eaten. The comment sent co-founder Sami Rayshouny into tears and, he says, sent customers streaming through the door.
A Campaign Stop Turns Into a Food Review
“If you want the best shawarma of your life, it’s called Amo Sami’s,” El-Sayed said during the stop, according to MLive. Rayshouny told the outlet he found out almost immediately, overwhelmed by a wave of text messages and social media notifications around 2 or 3 a.m. “I was emotional all day crying,” he said.
El-Sayed is reportedly more than a casual fan. Rayshouny said the senator-elect visits Amo Sami’s about once a week and typically orders mixed shawarma with extra chicken and a little spice, per the same MLive report. El-Sayed also has strong opinions about what does and doesn’t count as real shawarma, saying that if it comes with lettuce, “it’s not a shawarma. It’s just a sandwich.” Rayshouny holds the same line, according to the report, and has shared a video laying out what he calls his three rules of shawarma law — with El-Sayed separately joking that he supports “shawarma law” rather than sharia law.
From Banking to Banging Out Shawarma Recipes
Rayshouny, who is from Sterling Heights, worked in banking before he and business partner Weesam “Sam” Ali got into the restaurant business, the MLive report notes. In 2016, Rayshouny took over a restaurant called Fattoush and began experimenting with shawarma recipes, aiming for something crispier. That experimentation led him to develop toasted bread and a special marinade, with his mother helping refine the recipes and marinades along the way. A company announcement hosted by Yahoo Finance similarly describes the venture’s origin, noting that Sami’s Fattoush was established as a small, family-owned restaurant in 2016 before the brand expanded into food trucks in 2022.
What began as one restaurant has grown into six locations across Michigan, per MLive’s report. Rayshouny described the operation as built around a welcoming, family-like atmosphere for both customers and staff, and he credited his family, his partner and his employees for the business’s success. Portions, he said, tend to be generous enough that diners often walk away with leftovers.
Big Growth Plans on the Table
Rayshouny told MLive the restaurant has seen increased business since El-Sayed’s comments, with customers mentioning the endorsement when they come in, and that the shop has drawn customers from as far as Washington, D.C., Australia and the United Kingdom. He said the company hopes to reach 10 locations by the end of 2026, including new restaurants in Arizona and Florida, with a longer-term goal of surpassing 100 locations within four to five years.
Separate reporting suggests the expansion is already further along on paper. A company announcement covered by L’Express Franchise said Amo Sami’s had signed 90 new franchise agreements, pushing its total development pipeline to 102 locations spanning more than 14 states. That same report said a seventh restaurant opened in Tampa, Florida, in May 2026, in addition to the six Michigan locations.
Plenty of Competition in Metro Detroit’s Shawarma Scene
Amo Sami’s is hardly the only shawarma name in the region with a following. The Detroit Free Press notes that Al Ameer, winner of the 2026 Free Press Shawarma Showdown, has locations in Canton and Dearborn Heights and became the first Michigan restaurant to win the James Beard America’s Classic Award back in 2016. Bucharest Grill, which opened in 2006, is considered a Detroit shawarma staple, while My Big Fat Shawarma runs three locations across metro Detroit.
Other longtime spots round out the local landscape. Boff’s Market and Middle Eastern Cuisine in Warren has served beef, chicken and lamb shawarma for more than 35 years, the Free Press reports, and Beirut Bakery, founded in 1979 and still operated by the Hallis family, remains known for its pita bread. None of that history changes what happened in Macomb County this week — a senator-elect gave his honest take on a sandwich, and one restaurant owner cried happy tears over it.
