Prince Valley History
Hani Gappy realized the American dream despite adversity and setbacks. Hani arrived in Detroit in 1967 from Baghdad, Iraq, leaving his entire family of nine brothers and sisters behind. His goal was to become a successful business owner, paving the way for the rest of his family to join him in Detroit. In 1972, through hard work and persistence, Hani opened his first Prince Valley store on Cass Avenue.
Due to the success of this store, Hani purchased his second store on Detroit’s eastside in 1974. In September of 1975 Hani was able to purchase his first Supermarket on Michigan Avenue and Livernois. Success was imminent and Hani was able to fulfill his promise to his family; many of his brothers and sisters came to Detroit from Iraq to help out in his store.
In 1999, Hani’s Supermarket was destroyed in a fire. Undeterred, Hani purchased a neighboring business and opened Prince Valley. Appealing to the growing Latino population, Hani developed a tortilla factory right inside the store. Prince Valley also had a new Hispanic bakery and pastry department, a full service meat counter, and many new services such as a financial center, Metro PCS and United States Post Office. By adapting to diverse cultures over his many years in business, Hani has been able to grow Prince Valley into the very unique supermarket it is today.