May Mom of the Month {2018}
Memphis is full of amazing moms: working moms, stay-at-home moms, single moms, moms of multiples, etc. We want to highlight some of those moms! Every month we will feature one mom as MMB’s mom of the month.
Meet Michelle Levine! Born in Taipei, Taiwan, she moved to Memphis when she was eight months old, and is now our May Mom of the Month! For as long as she can remember, her family has been in the food business. Her dad and Uncle Alfred opened the first of four locations of Formosa Restaurant in 1978. After graduating from St. Mary’s High School, college took her to Atlanta where she lived for 13 years. Even though she had sworn off the food industry, she somehow found herself working for a start-up restaurant concept on their operations and marketing. In 2008, with her husband Mark, she decided it was time to be closer to family. He relocated with ServiceMaster HQ and she started Mosa Asian Bistro on White Station with her father, Eddie, and her brother, Alex.
Fast forward 10 years, she and Mark now have 2 kids (Matthew – 4, and Julia – 19 months), 2 businesses ( he now owns his own boutique consulting firm), and a 14-year-old lab, Ollie. Life is busy! Michelle has no regrets about moving back home to Memphis. She loves being close to her parents, who are so involved in the lives of her kids. She loves being part of a community that is so supportive of local businesses. Memphis is evolving, changing for the better, and she thinks it is great to witness and be a part of it.
We asked Michelle:
1. What is the best thing about being a working mom? What is the hardest thing about being a working mom?
The best part of being a working mom is that it gives me my own sense of purpose. I’m so blessed that I love what I do. Being able to devote energy and brain power to work and my family balances my inner chi, and I feel good! At the same time, the hardest part of being a working mom is the continual inner struggle of juggling motherhood and working. Sometimes when I feel that work is going well, I feel that I’m not momming well, and vice versa. C’est la vie, but it’s wonderful that I have a great community of women and friends to help me on this awesome journey.
2. Tell us three fun facts about yourself!
I love to karaoke to cheesy 80’s music.
When my brain gets really tired, I’ve been known to speak a mixture of English and Chinese (aka Chinglish).
Cleaning my house makes me happy. Just give me cleaning supplies, a house with no kids or husband, Alexa streaming 80’s music, and I’m having a dance party!
3. What do you love most about Memphis?
The best thing I love about Memphis is that I feel like I’ve come home. I was gone for so long. I had a great time when I was in Atlanta, made some great lifelong friends, ate wonderful food, and got to do some exciting overseas travel (over 14 countries so far). But coming back to Memphis was coming home. And now, not only am I close to my family, but I also have the support of a loving community of customers who have become like another family to me.
