Customers enjoyed Yemeni tea and coffee, pistachio lattes, lemon and carrot cakes, and other pastries and drinks in the newly opened Qahwah House on 2869 Broadway, between 111th Street and 112th Street, on Sunday evening and Monday—its first full opening day.

The two-story location, which is next to The Heights Bar and Grill and at the previous site of the Shaking Crab, is part of the company’s plan to expand across the United States and eventually overseas, Qahwah House manager Talal Alsaedi told Spectator in May. The chain, which serves Yemeni coffee and pastries, first opened in Michigan in 2017.

Customer interest in the Morningside Heights location has been strong, Jalal Hizam, who co-owns the location with his cousin Omar Hizam, said.

“We’ve had a lot of people walk through [and ask] ‘When is this space opening? When is this space opening?’ over from Columbia University,” Jalal Hizam said.

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.

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, which consists of layers of chocolate brownie, sponge cake, and mousse.

The coffee beans are grown in farms in Yemen then roasted in machines in-store, Jalal Hizam said, noting that the process allows for fresher coffee than other methods, such as drip coffee.

“We just want to show the people, we’re trying to spread our culture. And how we make coffee back home is how we make it here too, in these coffee shops,” Jalal Hizam said.