The notorious Eminem “Lose Yourself” song was released nearly two decades ago but there’s one lyric that has everyone still thinking about Eminem and food. This is why some fans are wondering if he owns a restaurant.
You might be surprised to find that Eminem does own a restaurant, or did, anyway. In 2017 he opened a pop up restaurant called, as anyone would expect, “Mom’s Spaghetti.”
Unfortunately the pop up restaurant was short lived, but here’s to crossing our fingers that it makes a reappearance.
Mom’s Spaghetti
“Lose Yourself” is undoubtedly one of the world’s most popular songs. For years, people from all around the world have continued uttering the lyrics (most commonly those that include the words “Mom’s spaghetti”).
It made it on the Rolling Stone 100 Greatest Songs of the Century list. At one point it was even number one. And again, after being out for nearly two decades, it again climbed to tremendous popularity after Eminem performed it at the 2020 Grammy’s.
So, it’s no wonder that Eminem decided to bring a whole new meaning to the song—and his Mom’s Spaghetti.
In December 2017, Eminem announced via Twitter that he would be bringing a pop up Mom’s Spaghetti restaurant to Detroit. The event was hosted at The Shelter, a club very similar to the one featured in the movie 8 Mile and is close to Eminem’s old stomping grounds.
Eminem kept the menu very simple. The only items were mom’s spaghetti for $5, mom’s spaghetti with meatballs for $8, and s’ghetti sandwiches for $5. To wash everything down, attendees could get either a water or a pop for $3.
To say that things went well was an understatement. In just the first three hours, Mom’s Spaghetti had already dished out more than 100 pounds of pasta.
The pasta came in a carry out container (like those you would get when ordering Chinese food delivery). As a surprise to fans, it also came with a free piece of gooey, buttery garlic bread.
Reportedly, the pasta didn’t taste that great. Some attendees reported that it tasted like what you’d get from a Kraft or Prego jar. But for this pop up restaurant, it was so much more than just the food. Along with the pasta, merch was available for fans, as was a sneak peak of a new album.
The restaurant pop up idea was actually based on the launch of Eminem’s much-anticipated album ‘Revival.’ This came at a time when Eminem slowly started to fall out of stardom as the former ‘greatest rapper alive’ began to lose stock in the rap game.
The marketing behind the album was obviously both innovative and delicious.
What was super tasty though, was the surprise appearance during one of the pop up’s days of operation. He arrived unexpectedly at the Mom’s Spaghetti restaurant on Friday, December 15, 2017 and posed with fans and enjoyed some spaghetti himself.
Really staying true to his lyrics, the rapper actually showed up wearing a spaghetti already covered in what was presumed to be spaghetti vomit.
Mom’s Spaghetti Part II
Impressing another type of fan (and in the warm California sun this time), Eminem hosted a ‘Mom’s Spaghetti’ remix in 2018.
Joining other vegan restaurants for Coachella’s food lineup, this pop up offered the same food as the original with a special addition for plant-based partiers. For $15, attendees could get a mom’s spaghetti with vegan meatballs. Oh, and this time they could add a $5 red bull energy drink, too.
Unfortunately, Eminem learned the hard way that spaghetti and meatballs is a much better meal for a cold Michigan winter. A lot of it ended up in the trash can.
While we aren’t always in the mood for Mom’s Spaghetti, we are always hungry for fun ways for artists like Eminem to share their talents. And we’re definitely hoping for another spaghetti pop up soon.