Lauren Roumayah admits that her husband had grown a little tired of her.

Every day, it seemed that Roumayah, a 2015 Wayne State graduate, complained about her unfulfilling job in the local fashion industry. She needed change, a path forward — but, she concedes, the only thing moving was her mouth.

“I had a job in the fashion industry but was not happy,” said Roumayah. “I am a creative person, and the position I held was behind a desk and very numbers oriented. I complained every day — and it was making the people around me miserable. My husband grew sick of me being so upset with my life path that he asked me a simple question: ‘If you could do anything you wanted, anything in the world, what would it be?’

“I replied, ‘I just want to make cookies and work out.’”

With that, Roumayah began baking her way to happiness.

Working out of a shared-use kitchen space known as the Culinary Studio, Roumayah and her husband launched the Detroit Cookie Company, a retail hub for cookies, coffee, ice cream and even croissants.

Initially, the products were sold wholesale and only available online, primarily for catering. “The journey was extremely daunting,” Roumayah said. “We both had full-time jobs, even when we opened. We worked before and after work. We only took breaks to sleep. It was exhausting, and sometimes I wanted to give up.”

In 2017, the Detroit Cookie Company opened its first brick-and-mortar location in Ferndale, and hasn’t slowed down since. Roumayah is currently looking to expand, possibly into Ann Arbor or Troy — part of her plan to open five new cookie shops within the next three years.

At the same time, she and her husband are renovating a 1967 DIVCO milk truck, set to be completed early next year. The truck will serve milk, cookies and ice cream sandwiches.
    
“It is not easy to follow your dreams and make a risk like we did,” said Roumayah. “In the end, it paid off. We never stopped, and we do not plan to relax ever.”