Latest news with #QahwahHouse
CBS News
15-04-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Is Dearborn becoming the capital of coffee? Community leaders believe so.
Dearborn is known for many things, including the headquarters of the Ford Motor Co. and being home to the largest Arab American community in the United States. And thanks to a vibrant coffee culture, the city's mayor likes to call it the "Coffee Capital of Michigan." Whether or not that's true is up for debate, but with dozens of coffee shops across the city, there's no doubt it's a steadily growing industry. Driving around Dearborn, there's no shortage of coffee shop options. "If you go across those coffee shops, they're all busy, and I think they're demonstrating why we're the coffee capital here in the state of Michigan," said Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud. Qahwah House, the first Yemeni coffee shop in the U.S., opened in Dearborn in 2017. "I think this is the best area to start the business, especially with the community is going to support you. You feel like home," said Ibrahim Alhasbani, founder and CEO of Qahwah House. Alhasbani says that from the beginning, his mission was to put Yemeni coffee back on the map. "Yemen is the birthplace for coffee, and Yemen has the best coffee in the world," Alhasbani said. Qahwah House is the only Yemeni coffee shop that is 100% vertically integrated. That means they control the entire process from farm to cup. The coffee beans at Qahwah House are imported directly from Ibrahim's family farms in Yemen. "You're really helping uplift many generations of family with each cup of coffee that you purchase or tea that I prefer. I don't drink coffee," Hammoud said. And while President Trump's reciprocal tariffs are on hold for now, there is some worry about the potential impacts that they could have on the coffee industry. "Of course, there's concern. Price is already high for the customer. We're trying to take that loss on us. So, we're going to try not to charge extra money to the customer," Alhasbani said. Qahwah House now has 30 locations, with more on the way. "We want people to come and talk so we can know each other again," Alhasbani said. And if the coffee enthusiasts in Dearborn have a say, the city will become well-known across the country. "It's going to be the coffee capital for the whole United States. This is the plan," Alhasbani said.
New York Times
10-03-2025
- Business
- New York Times
It's 11:30 p.m., and the Yemeni Coffee Shop Is Jumping
On a recent Saturday night, diners in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, took their rightful places at the natural wine bars, pizza shops and taquerias across the neighborhood. Good luck finding a seat at the Yemeni coffee chain. Qahwah House, a Yemeni coffeehouse with 26 locations in nine states, was standing room only just after 8 p.m. College students crowded around kettles of spiced coffee to study for exams and occasionally flirt. A group of fashionable women clinked tea glasses, having just come from a birthday dinner. Behind the counter, the floor manager took a phone call: He was needed at the Qahwah House across town in Bay Ridge — a line had wrapped throughout the cafe. Go ahead: Have that coffee after 2 p.m. Yemeni immigrants are making their mark on the U.S. coffee industry and shifting cafe culture late into the night. In the last decade, the number of Yemeni coffeehouses that stay open well after sundown has ballooned, beginning in Michigan and fanning out toward Texas, New York and California. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
