Qahwah House
The oldest U.S.-based chain of Yemeni coffee shops hasn't yet announced OC plans
Founded in 2017, Qahwah House was the earliest U.S. chain of Yemeni coffee shops, starting in Michigan and now spread across six states with roughly a dozen locations. Qahwah House has said that it plans to expand “all over the U.S.” and then overseas, but although it is “coming soon” in DC and three more states, it has not officially announced plans for California yet.
Qahwah House currently competes with Qamaria Coffee, which opened Orange County’s first Yemeni coffee shop in Fullerton in 2023, and Haraz Coffee House, which has Anaheim and Tustin locations scheduled to open in 2025.
As shown at their suburban Chicago location in Lombard, Qahwah Coffee’s offerings are similar to Qamaria’s, including a collection of authentic (strong) Yemeni coffees and teas, more Americanized options (iced lavender lemonade, shown), and desserts. Easy recommendations are the warm Khaliat Al Nahl (honeycomb bread) with sweetened cheese, and the spiced, thick Mufawaar coffee. The Lombard location we visited wasn’t as strong as the Fullerton Qamaria, in our view, though there does appear to be some variation in offerings between locations – in part due to local bakery sourcing.
Stats
Price: $
Service: Counter
Open Since: 2017 (US), 2022 (IL)
Addresses
406 E. Roosevelt Rd.
Lombard, IL 60148
630.519.3632
Instagram: @qahwah_house