Photos by Kamal Moon

The Qahwah House team, from left to right, Amira Hamdan, Maya Hamdan, Jenna Hamdan, Tina Conley, Dawlat Abdullah, Afnan Hamdan, Leiann Hamdan and Nariman Hamdan.

The alluring taste of authentic Yemeni coffee comes in a warm, inviting atmosphere at Qahwah House. The Dearborn, Michigan-based chain recently opened their first Wisconsin location in Oak Creek in July, situated in Drexel Town Square at 7981 S Sixth St. Open late into the evening seven days a week, spanning two floors of seating and featuring an outdoor patio, Qahwah House has quickly become a neighborhood haven for Milwaukee’s south suburbs.

Qahwah House serves a variety of drinks including Yemeni tea and coffee, such as Mofawar, a medium roast coffee served with cardamom and cream. It also serves Turkish dark roast and Arabic light roast coffees, as well as refreshers and cold brew.

Qahwah House celebrates the lore of Yemen being the first place in the world where coffee was cultivated. The word qahwah is Arabic for coffee. Part of the company’s mission is to bring folks back to coffee as a social catalyst. As one steps into the shop, pictures of scenic Yemen adorning the wall catch their eye right away. By the stairs is a massive map that details coffee arabica’s distribution across the world.

Drexel Town Square is a perfect location for a quality coffee house with late night hours near residents, local businesses, Oak Creek Public Library and City Hall, farmers’ market and Froedtert Hospital.

Oak Creek franchise co-operators Tina Conley and Dawlat Abdullah are sister-in-laws, and both have kids who are current employees at Qahwah House. Prior to their current roles, Conley had worked in real estate for over 25 years while Abdullah has a background in restaurants.

Conley’s real estate background is actually how the Qahwah House opportunity came about for her. “The franchise approached me to look for locations in Milwaukee,” she recalls. “The previous tenant of this building put me in contact with the landlord, and it was the first location I took them to.”

Immediately, the company knew that Drexel Town Square was where they wanted Wisconsin’s first Qahwah House.

Co-operators and sister-in-laws, Tina Conley and Dawlat Abdullah created a family-operated, family-welcoming hangout for everyone.

“Some of the decision makers wanted it to be close to the mosque,” Conley elaborates, referring to the Islamic Society of Milwaukee. “This location is also attractive for its visibility. It’s well-traveled and has a built-in clientele. I particularly like it because it’s a mix of all walks of life and not just concentrated to one specific demographic.”

The location is right across the street from Oak Creek Public Library. “We do get a lot of people that are here studying when the library closes because of our late hours,” Conley observes.

Yemeni-style coffees are single batch made-to-order on the stovetop, one cup at a time.

Froedtert Hospital and Oak Creek City Hall as well as several grocery stores and hotels are also close by. Then the Oak Creek Farmers Market takes place at Drexel Town Square from May to October, drawing lots of foot traffic to the area.

Qahwah House has become regionally popular since the company’s founding in 2017. “People had been driving to the Skokie and Lombard, Illinois locations from Milwaukee just to get their hands on the chai,” Conley remarks.

Their coffee is imported from company owner Ibrahim Alhasbani’s farm in Yemen, who is an eighth-generation farmer. “It comes directly from the port of Mocha in Yemen to our doors,” Conley mentions.

Yemeni-style coffees are single batch made-to-order on the stovetop, one cup at a time, but Qahwah does make Adeni Chai as a bulk batch because of its popularity. The Yemeni-style coffees are all roasted in Dearborn, but the regular Turkish and Arabic coffee used in their espresso drinks is roasted on-sight in Oak Creek. 

“You can buy it light, medium or dark, and you can have it ground any way you like,” Conley notes. “For each bean you grind for a cup of espresso, it’s as fresh as you’re going to be able to get it.”

Co-operator Dawlat Abdullah roasts fresh batches of Yemen coffee beans in-store at the Oak Creek location. 

There are eight Yemeni-style coffees and teas on the menu total, variably flavored with delicious notes like cardamom, ginger and cinnamon. Most espresso drinks can be made either hot or iced. Both whole coffee beans and ground coffee are available for purchase. 

“We try not to do recommendations for people, but instead we ask them what their flavor profile is because everyone is so individualized and different,” Conley adds. “That’s by design. There’s no screens flashing what we have. You look at the menu, then once you get up to the counter, that’s really where we point you in the right direction.”

Qahwah store manager and barista, Jenna Hamdan serves up an iced latte. “Welcome. Our House is Your House” is the franchise tag line.

Qahwah also serves a number of baked goods including sabayas (multilayered Yemeni pastry with butter, honey and sesame seeds), khaliat al nahl (honeycomb buns filled with cream cheese), cakes, tarts and both sweet and savory croissants. All pastries are baked in Dearborn at Qahwah’s corporate location.

While they do have a mobile app and try to make it convenient for those who do not have the time to sit down and have coffee, Qahwah House is designed so that customers spend time off their phones, enjoying face-to-face communication with one another. To accommodate groups, brewed coffee may be served in pots with a set of miniature cups.

“It’s not all about speed for the customer here,” Conley explains. “There’s no drive-thrus or walk-up windows. We’re not in a hurry.”

Food offerings include sabaya—a Yemeni pastry consisting of flaky, buttery layered bread—as well as pistachio cake, crème brûlée, hazelnut tarts, and triple chocolate jabal saber, sponge cake, and carrot cake (shown here).

Conley affirms that the neighborhood has been excited and supportive of Qahwah House’s presence. “It’s interesting because at other locations, the night shift has been twice as busy as the day shift, and so we weren’t expecting that our day shift was going to blow up as much as it has. We’ve been getting to know new people who come in quite often, and it’s good to see that people are enjoying their experience and coming back.”

She loves most when entire families come to Qahwah House, sharing, “Three, sometimes four, generations will be here at one time having fun. We’ve had people thank us for opening because it’s where they hang out now.”

Co-operator Tina Conley loves seeing families with three, sometimes four, generations having fun at Qahwah House. 

The shop is now in the process of developing their catering services. “We will have offerings for events that you can take to-go or have delivered, or you can have us come to the event and make it right in front of you,” Conley confirms.

Qahwah House is open Sunday through Thursday from 6am to 11pm, and Friday and Saturday from 6am to 1am.