You are currently viewing How Yemeni Cafes like Haraz Coffee House Are Building Momentum and Community

A couple of weeks ago, when Hamzah Nasser learned that the Israeli military had bombed the Yemeni port of Hudaydah, he knew he had a problem. His monthly coffee shipments already involved an arduous journey from the country’s mountainous interior to his cafe in Dearborn, Mich. — facing warring factions on land and rebel fire by sea. Now their usual path was blocked.

“It’s getting a little bit stressful,” Nasser said. A Yemeni cafe requires Yemeni coffee. And Nasser, who plans to open many more Yemeni cafes, needs a lot more beans.

Nasser, a former truck driver, opened his first Haraz Coffee House in Dearborn four years ago. Since then, he has gone from hauling parts for the likes of Ford to buying a 70,000-square-foot building in Dearborn that housed the company’s vehicle prototypes. His headquarters now holds two industrial roasters and a bakery, where a pastry chef recently arrived from France

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