Award-winning rapper, Eminem has teamed up with Union Joints Restaurant Group to launch a restaurant called Mom’s Spaghetti in his hometown of Detroit – here’s a review.
Eminem’s new business venture, a new restaurant called Mom’s Spaghetti opened on Wednesday, September 29, 2021.
Mom’s Spaghetti comes from the memorable lyric in Eminem’s Oscar-winning song, “Lose Yourself,” penned for the 2002 movie “8 Mile.” It was originally a pop-up dining experience in Detroit in 2017, but now Eminem is going full in on the venture.
There’s Mom’s Spaghetti for $9, Mom’s Spaghetti with Meatballs for $12, and a ‘Spaghetti Sandwich for $11.
Eminem naming his next investment with his mother’s image reveals how he admires his mother.
Who is Eminem’s mother? The name of Eminem’s mother is called Debbie Nelson. During his childhood, Eminem and his mother Debbie shuttled between Detroit and Missouri, rarely staying in one house for more than a year or two and living primarily with family members.
Does Eminem own Mom’s spaghetti? Did Eminem open a restaurant? Who made mom’s spaghetti? Let’s take a look at 10 facts about the rapper, Eminem’s new venture – The Mom’s Spaghetti Restuarant.
1. About Eminem’s “Mom’s Spaghetti”
Mom’s Spaghetti is a bait-and-switch copypasta derived from the lyrics of Eminem’s 2002 hit rap single “Lose Yourself.” Originating from the 4chan imageboard community, it is a notable example of spaghetti stories that usually start out as a personal anecdote about an embarrassing or socially awkward episode before ending abruptly with a sudden appearance of spaghetti.
Palms are sweaty
Knees weak, arms are heavy
Vomit on my sweater already
Mom’s spaghetti
2. Mom’s Spaghetti Origin
Prior to the emergence of spaghetti stories in 2010, various excerpts from Eminem’s “Lose Yourself,” including “mom’s spaghetti,” have been used as the title of blog posts or discussion threads, most notably on the automobile enthusiast forum LS1TECH[3] in April 2003, 4chan’s /r9k/ board[4] in April 2008 and FARK’s current event forum[5] in November 2011.
Like most spaghetti stories that came before, the “Mom’s Spaghetti” copypasta originated from 4chan sometime in early 2012 with the earliest known mention found in a greentext story (shown below) posted on April 19th.
3. Eminem’s Mom’s Spaghetti Lyrics
“Mom’s spaghetti” is a memorable line from the lyrics of Eminem’s 2002 hip hop single “Lose Yourself,” which follows the day-to-day struggles dealt by “B-Rabbit,” the main protagonist character played by the rapper himself in the 2002 American hip hop drama film 8 Mile.
Originally released on October 22th, 2002 as the first single of the 8 Mile original soundtrack, the song is considered Eminem’s most critically acclaimed and commercially successful single to date.
Following its release, “Lose Yourself” became the first rap song to be awarded the Academy Award for Best Original Song and also earned five Grammy nominations in 2003.
His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy
There’s vomit on his sweater already, mom’s spaghetti
He’s nervous, but on the surface, he looks calm and ready to drop bombs,
but he keeps on forgetting what he wrote down,
the whole crowd goes so loud
He opens his mouth, but the words won’t come out
He’s choking how everybody’s joking now
The clock’s run out, time’s up over, bloah!
4. Spread of Eminem’s Mom’s Spaghetti
Given the lyrical premise of “Lose Yourself,” which begins with an aspiring rapper nervously trying to recall his verses on stage, not to mention its inclusion of “mom’s spaghetti” in the rhyme scheme, the song was already well-suited for 4chan’s spaghetti story pranks that often explore personal stories that are frightening or socially awkward in nature.
On April 21st, 2012, two days after the copypasta was posted on 4chan, a similar spaghetti story was submitted to Bodybuilding Forum[7] by user Tko38.
In the following months, more variations of “mom’s spaghetti” posts continued to surface on 4chan’s /b/ (random), /v/ (video game) and /r9k/ boards.[11][12] On May 1st, the earliest known instance from 4chan was reblogged by Memebase[14] in a post titled “Lose Yourself in This Best Spaghetti Story Yet.”
On May 26th, the Facebook page[8] for 4chan’s /b/ board posted a status update featuring a “spaghetti-heavy” variation of the copypasta.
On May 28th, the same version of the “mom’s spaghetti” story from /b/’s Facebook page was reposted on Bodybuilding Forum[9] by user bl0wj. On the following day, the spaghetti-heavy version was featured on Tumblr[13] with a photoshopped image of spaghetti and meatball running down from Eminem’s hands. The post was well-received on Tumblr, gaining more than 7,900 notes in the span of a month.
his palms are sweaty, knees weak
arms spaghetti
There’s vomit on his spaghetti already,
mom’s spaghetti
He’s spaghetti, but on the surface he
looks calm and ready to drop spaghetti
but he keeps on forgetting what he
spaghetti
On May 30th, Redditor drokcab reposted the same message in the comments of a Reddit thread titled “What’s the most accidentally inappropriate thing you’ve ever done?”[10] which spawned a string of comments featuring additional verses from “Lose Yourself.”
5. Eminem’s Mom’s Spaghetti restaurant was opened on September 29.
Eminem is serving up more than just bars with his next venture. He’s serving mom’s spaghetti, literally. The rapper has teamed up with Union Joints Restaurant Group to launch a restaurant called Mom’s Spaghetti in his hometown of Detroit.
As fans know, the moniker comes from the famous line in Eminem’s 2002 hit song “Lose Yourself,” in which he raps, “His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy / There’s vomit on his sweater already, mom’s spaghetti.”
A 30-second trailer promoting the new food joint starts off with a shot of the Detroit skyline. The rest of the clip reveals the menu, which includes, of course, spaghetti, with or without meatballs, and a s’ghetti sandwich.
This isn’t the first time Eminem has brought his lyrics to life. He hosted a pop-up in 2017 and also donated pasta to front-line workers during the beginning of the pandemic in April 2020.
6. Eminem’s “Mom’s Spaghetti” is in a partnership with Union Joints Restaurant Group
The Project, Created in Partnership with Union Joints Restaurant Group, was Openned on Woodward Avenue across from Comerica Park on September 29.
Eminem and his manager Paul Rosenberg partnered with Union Joints restaurant group – with whom they worked on the original project – to create the permanent location. Stans are likely already familiar with Mom’s Spaghetti; the concept was launched in 2017 as a pop-up at The Shelter, the iconic music venue at legendary St. Andrew’s Hall in Detroit, in conjunction with the release of Eminem’s “Revival” album.
The pasta pop-up then made intermittent appearances at various Eminem live festival performances and events over the course of the following year including Coachella, Firefly, and Governor’s Ball. During the pandemic, Shady Records contracted Union Joints to deliver Mom’s Spaghetti to frontline caregivers at eight hospitals and to those administering Covid-19 vaccinations at the TCF Center (formerly Cobo Hall) garage in Detroit. Now, Detroiters and those visiting downtown can get their fix of the spaghetti-based menu whenever they are in the area.
“We’ve had a lot of fun putting this project together with the folks at Union Joints, and the response from fans has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Paul Rosenberg, manager for Eminem. “The previous pop-ups were really a test for us to determine whether there was enthusiasm for a regularly-occurring Mom’s Spaghetti spot that would be open all year long. We are really pleased to announce the arrival of the walk-up restaurant and adjacent upstairs store, called The Trailer, where fans can experience a uniquely-curated environment and obtain merch and other items from Eminem and his new pasta operation.”
Curt Catallo, co-owner, of Union Joints added, “When we were first tapped to create the pop-ups it was an honor for all of us involved. The opportunity to build a permanent location based on an incredibly meta-reference was one that everyone at Union Joints, as a Metro Detroit restaurant group, took very seriously”.
“We’re proud of the fact that we created a scratch sauce that tastes like it’s straight from the jar, and wok-firing the noodles gives it that leftover pasta snap. The walk-up window and small diner-like spot for people to eat add to the feeling that this is a homegrown, DIY experience. And The Trailer retail space that Ann (Stevenson) designed is a nod to Eminem’s character in 8 Mile…it’s something that belongs in Detroit, and it feels right at home in this space.”
Keen-eyed Detroiters may have noticed that Mom’s Spaghetti was initially teased with a commercial that ran throughout this past weekend on local television; you can view the spot here. Mom’s Spaghetti occupies a small bodega space within Union Assembly. Designed by Ann Stevenson, the space feels as though the rest of the restaurant was built around it… like a longstanding neighborhood holdout that wouldn’t budge. Mom’s is ordered and served via a walk-up window in the alley with limited customer seating inside next to the bodega space.
7. Location/Address
The restaurant, located within the newly-opened Union Assembly restaurant at 2131 Woodward Avenue “in the alley between Union Assembly and The Fillmore,” – downtown Detroit.
September 29 saw the opening of The Trailer, a dedicated Eminem retail space that’s located above the Mom’s Spaghetti kitchen. A nod to B. Rabbit’s trailer from 8 Mile.
8. Eminem retail collection
The space features Mom’s Spaghetti merch, items from the Eminem retail collection (including limited editions and coveted deadstock), and memorabilia from the Eminem archives. Expect drops and rotating stock in this retail space, which is limited to eight Stans at a time.
9. Mom’s Spaghetti website and contact details.
For more information on Mom’s Spaghetti, visit www.momsspaghetti.com or call (313) 888-8388.
10. Mom’s Spaghetti menu and prices lists
There’s Mom’s Spaghetti for $9, Mom’s Spaghetti with Meatballs for $12, Spaghetti Vegan Balls sells for $14, and a ‘Spaghetti Sandwich for $11. Visit the official website of the restaurant for all information relating to the prices and menu of Mom’s Spaghetti – www.momsspaghetti.com.
