A Yemeni-style cafe is now open in Charlotte, serving Arabic coffee in Plaza Midwood

An Arabic coffee cafe is bringing a Yemeni experience to the streets of Charlotte, introducing a new style of coffee to the area.

Haraz Coffee House is now open at 1204 Central Ave., in a space previously occupied by Juice Bar.

Hamzah Nasser, CEO of Haraz Coffee House, opened his first location in April 2021 in Dearborn, Michigan. The cafe serves traditional Arabic-style coffee, lattes and tea.

“I get something every time I open a coffee shop; I make more friends and I become part of a new community,” Nasser told D Magazine recently.

Haraz coffee beans are grown in Jabal Haraz, a region of Yemen. In addition to serving traditional coffee, the cafe will showcase Yemen’s culture and coffee history, which is rich — while no one knows the exact origin of the invention of coffee, its roots can be tracked to both Ethiopia and Yemen.

COFFEE & FOOD: Customers can expect a variety of coffee, refreshers and tea at Haraz Coffee House. House specialties include Harazi, coffee with cardamom and cream, and Sana’ani, Yemeni-style black coffee with cardamom.

If you’re not feeling coffee, don’t worry. You can try the Iced Tango Chai, premium black tea and cream with haraz spice and foam, or a refreshing drink like the Iced Blush, organic hibiscus with lavender or blackberry.

This cafe will also serve pastries such as a Tiramisu Coffee Cake and an Istanbul Cheesecake drizzled with Nutella.

Haraz Coffee House offers both classroom and hands-on courses. If you’re interested in taking a deeper dive into the coffee world, you can learn latte art, brewing, cafe training or espresso extraction.

Frank Jernigan and Grant Henderson of The Nichols Company represented Haraz Coffee House in the transaction.

“It’s going to be a great addition to the rapidly changing culture of Charlotte and Plaza Midwood — with the constant influx of people moving to Charlotte, Haraz will provide people a taste of a different culture,” Jernigan told CharlotteFive.

Haraz Coffee House

Location: 1204 Central Avenue, Charlotte NC 28204

Menu

Cuisine: Coffee

Instagram: @harazcoffeehouse

This story was originally published July 17, 2023 at 6:00 AM.

Denise Casalez

The Charlotte Observer

Freelancer Denise Casalez was a summer news intern for CharlotteFive, reporting on the food, arts and culture that this city has to offer. This Charlotte native is finishing up her senior year at Appalachian State University with a B.S. in Journalism and has experience reporting in Nashville, Washington D.C., and Boone. When she’s not chasing stories, Denise loves to play guitar and check out the local music scene with her friends. She’s also a fur mom to a blind tuxedo cat, Oreo. You can find her on Instagram @denisevrios. Support my work with a digital subscription