What the growing popularity of Yemeni coffee shops says about third places

The hottest spot on a late Friday night in Manhattan’s West Village isn’t a trendy bar or Michelin-starred restaurant, but a chain of Yemeni coffee shops strictly serving coffee, tea and pastries.

A step into Qahwah House on Carmine Street offers the rich smell of cardamom, Arabic music and crowds of people both at the tables and queuing to order. The energy spills onto the sidewalk, where some begin to perform the Levantine folk dance known as dabke. This is a snapshot of different eastern cultures; The air is filled with Arabic, Farsi and Urdu, and some customers wear traditional clothes.

Qahwah House is just one of a string of Yemeni coffee chains that have sprung up in the Arab-majority Detroit area and are quickly popping up across the country, often where large Middle Eastern and Muslim populations live. Nineteen Qahwah House locations are open in seven states, with several more under construction and expected to open this year. Another chain, Haraz, opened this month in Manhattan’s pricey SoHo neighborhood, and at least six more are slated to open in the region over the next two years. Times Square will be home to two more chains: MOKAFÉ and Qamaria Yemeni Coffee Co.

The rapid expansion of these stores highlights the demand for nightlife not only for young Muslims and Middle Easterners, but also for young people looking for a non-digital third space where they can hang out without drinking alcohol or having to shout. loud music.

They don’t have many other options. Shopping centersthe traditional third place for young people is becoming increasingly unpopular. Chains like Starbucks have become more like takeaway counters. Alcohol-free lifestyle are growing even among those who do not profess Islam, in which many professing this religion already take part.

So for many young people in urban areas, especially immigrants, who are looking for a way to connect with their culture, this is a great option.

In New York, “people love to go to clubs,” strategy consultant Bhavishya Banda said late one night at Qahwah House. “Personally, I don’t find any pleasure in it. But I want to go out at night.”

Third spaces are not a new concept. Sober bars are popping up across the country. The goal is to create a sense of community and social connections. But Yemen’s coffee shops embraced both trends and flourished.

Young people, especially the children of immigrants living on the edge of two different cultures, “enjoy the fact that they are consuming something that’s really traditional, but in this very new, modern, contemporary context,” said Sally Howell, a professor of Arabic. American Studies at the University of Michigan-Dearborn.

Where did Yemeni coffee shops come from?

In the Middle East, coffee is not a drink you wake up to, but a means of social exchange. Although the coffee bean originated in Ethiopia, the earliest evidence of its cultivation appeared in Yemen as a result of trade across the Red Sea.

The practice followed in the early 20th century and around the world when the first wave of immigrants from the Middle East came to Detroit to work in the auto industry or shipping yards, Howell said. Most immigrants were men who migrated alone, so some of the first institutions they created were coffeehouses where they gathered to socialize, share news about their home country, and even write letters home. Many of the area’s first mosques were originally built behind coffee shops.

Yemeni men sail on the Great Lakes “They would work for months, then get a few weeks off and then work again,” leaving them unable to visit their families in Yemen, Howell said. “Coffee shops in the Detroit area were a really important institution.”

“Our mission is to bring everyone together in one place and share the story,” Ibrahim Alhasbani, founder of Yemen’s first modern coffee chain, Qahwah House, told CNN. “That’s why we serve coffee in a pot. People come into the store, share one pot, can talk and tell different stories.”

A new chapter for Yemeni coffee

Today’s chains are being created by a new demographic – the descendants of these immigrants – who are bringing Yemeni coffee culture into the American mainstream.

The earliest Qahwah homes in Dearborn were spacious and upscale, with furnishings familiar to patrons of well-known coffee chains. But they also brought with them Yemeni culture: coffee beans imported from local farmers, artifacts from the region and the founder’s family tree on the wall.

“I come from family farmers. We own coffee farms in Yemen, we grew up on coffee, we loved coffee,” Alhasbani said.

Howell said a new generation of Yemenis in the region has gained support from a more established community. People like Alhasbani have come with investors: Yemeni entrepreneurs, professionals, medical professionals and engineers who are benefiting their community by sponsoring young people.

Business experts say customers are drawn to authenticity. For example, Alhasbani hand-blends drink ingredients at his Michigan factory, and coffee beans are still sourced from farmers in Yemen.

“There’s been a lot of emphasis on being authentic and real, especially in the specialty coffee space, but also in the entertainment space,” Hovig Chalyan, assistant professor of clinical entrepreneurship at the USC School of Business, told CNN. Marshall.

Growing outside of Dearborn

During the day, Yemeni coffee shops operate in the same way as many nearby establishments. Visitors hold meetings, college students study, and others stop by for a quick cup to go.

But at night they effectively serve as a living room, especially for young Muslims who don’t go to clubs and bars. From New York to Dallas, especially on late Ramadan nights, the crowds pour into the streets and you often have to shout to be heard inside. Some young Muslims even go to a cafe in the hope of finding a life partner.

Nowhere is this coffeehouse culture more evident and celebrated than in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit home to one of the largest Arab-American communities in the United States.

Downtown Dearborn is rife with a variety of Yemenite coffee shops, which Howell said helped revitalize the Detroit area after the city’s destruction. became the largest municipality to go bankrupt in 2013. And it’s only growing.

“It became kind of contagious,” Howell said. “Several Yemeni entrepreneurs are opening their own coffee shops, each with their own style and atmosphere.”

Coffee chains have big ambitions beyond Dearborn. Qahwah House hopes to open 20 to 30 more locations next year in 12 states and Canada, Alhasbani said. They are also licensed, but Alhasbani says he sets high standards before allowing anyone to open a store.

“We get too many people (asking me) who want to open up. I get over 10 different requests a day just to open this type of business,” he said. “We don’t license anyone until we’re sure the person has a passion for the brand and their mind and heart for Qahwah House.”

Another authentic Yemeni coffee chain, Haraz, also hosts crowds day and night. They opened their first New York location last week—less than half a mile from the Qahwah House store in midtown Manhattan—and franchisees plan to expand.

But growth is not without its challenges. Haraz coffee is directly sourced from the highland region of Yemen after which it is named. WITH shipping from the Red Sea has become difficult or delayed, franchise co-owner Ahmed Mustafa said they have a three-year supply of beans in Michigan so they can meet demand while maintaining the original flavor.

The space of the new Kharaz building is noticeably reminiscent of Islamic architecture: the walls are decorated with pointed arches. But its location in pricey SoHo aims to reach beyond the Middle Eastern communities of Brooklyn and Queens.

“I received feedback from a woman who lives in this block. She said, “I didn’t even know about coffee from Yemen,” Mustafa said.

For more CNN news and newsletters, create an account at: CNN.com