The Suzanne Sareini Papers represent Ms. Sareini's involvement in the Dearborn community, her service on the Dearborn City Council, and her electoral campaigns for city council and state representative. Additionally represented are the restaurants owned by the Sareini family, and their role in the Dearborn restaurant community. This collection will be of particular interest to researchers interested in Dearborn politics and government, the Dearborn Arab-American community, and Dearborn restaurants in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Suzanne Sareini is a Lebanese-American politician and business owner from Dearborn, Michigan. She was born to Houssain "Sam" Mallad and Skiney Mallad on May 4, 1951 in Dearborn and graduated from Fordson High School in 1969. Dearborn has the highest population by percentage of Arab-Americans in the country, and Ms. Sareini is a second generation member of this community. She is the mother of four children and a grandmother to fourteen.
Ms. Sareini was the first Arab-American (man or woman) to be elected to the Dearborn, Michigan City Council. She was first elected in 1989 and served six terms, retiring from the council as President Pro-Tem after 24 years when her final term expired at the end of 2013. While in office she was particularly interested in senior and youth issues and attracting development in Dearborn. During her tenure, Councilwoman Sareini was one of only a few practicing Muslims to hold any type of public office nationally. Her son, Michael Sareini, was elected to the City Council in 2013.
In addition to serving on Dearborn City Council, Ms. Sareini ran in 2010 as the Republican Party's candidate to represent district 15 in the Michigan House of Representatives, running on a platform of job creation and bipartisanship, but lost in the general election to George Darany, the democratic candidate.
Ms. Sareini is also an active member of the Republican Party in Michigan and nationally, and was appointed by Michigan Governor John Engler to the Arab American Advisory Committee, as well as the Michigan Women's Commission, serving two terms on each. She served as a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1992 and was appointed by President George H.W. Bush to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Ms. Sareini also served as chairwoman of the National Arab-American Republican Heritage Council and as a member of the Michigan Republican Heritage Groups.
Councilwoman Sareini's father, Houssain "Sam" Mallad opened Uncle Sam's Restaurant, in 1964, which grew to become one of the most well-known Middle Eastern restaurants in the area. Ms. Sareini and her husband Tom took over the restaurant after the death of her father, and ran several iterations over the years under the names "Uncle Sam's Restaurant", "Uncle Sam's Village Café", and "The Village Café and The 19th Hole".
After "The Village Café and The 19th Hole" closed, Ms. Sareini has worked as a realtor in the Dearborn Community.