PLYMOUTH, Mich. (WXYZ) — A simple social media post from a daughter living thousands of miles away has transformed her father's struggling food truck business in Plymouth, turning one customer a day into overwhelming crowds that forced the business to close early due to high demand.
Smiley's Spuds and Corn, located just off Five Mile Road in Plymouth, serves everything from loaded potatoes to Philly cheesesteaks. The food truck is run by Smiley Rammaha and his wife Iman, who first opened in West Bloomfield earlier this year before relocating to Plymouth.
Watch Carli Petrus' video report below:
"He was out for three months because permits in West Bloomfield didn't allow him to continue his business there," said Sahar Rammaha, Smiley's daughter who lives in California as an emergency room doctor.
The couple recently reopened in Plymouth, but business was slow. Cold weather and Smiley Rammaha's ongoing health struggles made things even harder for the family business.
"Two days into it, his first day, he had like five customers. His second day, he had only one customer," Sahar Rammaha said.
Wanting to help from thousands of miles away, Sahar Rammaha turned to social media and posted a video on TikTok about her father's situation.
"I decided to just jump on TikTok and just hopefully someone in Michigan would see it and lo and behold, thousands of people actually viewed the video, which was to my surprise. And overnight, he went from like one customer to 100," Sahar Rammaha said.
When we visited on Tuesday, orders were pouring in so fast at Smiley Rammaha's food truck that they had to close early. Every customer we spoke with had come after seeing Sahar Rammaha's video.
"Her video sounded very genuine," said Tim Turner, who wanted to help out a small business in his community.
Turner ordered multiple items to share with others in need.
"I ordered a couple potatoes, one for me and one more my neighbor. He's not doing too good," Turner said.
Some customers took Sahar Rammaha's message more personally than others. Vanessa Orozco waited over an hour and a half for her order Tuesday night and said she would have waited longer if necessary.
"Oh, I felt that," Orozco said. "My father is an immigrant himself and he has a restaurant and I know how she must be feeling right now, so it's really nice to see in a place where things can quickly get nasty online, people actually coming together."
Sahar Rammaha said she feels overwhelmed and shocked by the response her parents' food truck is receiving.
"I feel really proud of my hometown and my entire state of Michigan for really coming out. Some of them have driven a couple of hours to show support for my dad and his story of being someone who does dialysis three days a week and still shows up to provide a source of income," Sahar Rammaha said.
Smiley Rammaha said he's just thankful for the community support.
"Unbelievably happy person, me and Iman," Smiley Rammaha said.
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