DEARBORN, Mich. (WXYZ) — As America marks 250 years of independence, we’re honoring the stories that keep the American dream alive.
Watch Faraz Javed's video report:
The Yemeni coffee craze is sweeping across America, but in Dearborn, Ibrahim Alhasbani didn't just join the trend; he started it.
"It's not just a drink. It's history. It's culture. It's in the blood," said Ibrahim.
Ibrahim is the man who made Yemeni coffee accessible to every coffee lover’s cup.
"I feel very proud because I really changed the history of the coffee. I will bring the history back to Yemeni coffee," he said.
Welcome to Qahwah House. The 41-year-old is the owner and founder.
"How we bring different background in one place to know each other. That's what we did," he said. "You're gonna see Christian, you're gonna see Jewish, you're gonna see white, you're gonna see Black, you're gonna see Spanish, you're gonna see people from everywhere."
"So you're telling me this cup of Yemeni coffee is uniting people?" I asked.
"100%. I'll drink to that," he said.
But what does qahwah mean? Ibrahim says qahwah is coffee in Arabic.
Fans of the coffee say it's bold and rich. Ibrahim says it has a natural chocolate flavor and is smooth.
"A lot of people, they don't know why they call it mocha coffee. There's a city in Yemen called city of Mocha ... this is where the first shipment officially shipped from port of Mocha to Europe," he said.
Ibrahim comes from 8th generation of coffee farmers in Yemen.
He says his family's house is more than 400 years old.
"I was born in this house, actually. This is my family from both sides, from my mother's side and from my father's side. And people still live in this house till now," he said.
The war in Yemen is what forced Ibrahim to move to America.
In 2011, he moved to the U.S. His first stop was New York. Ibrahim tried opening a Qahwah House in New York. It did not work out. Then in 2016, he moved to Michigan, opening a Qahwah House in 2017.
When asked what was different, he responded, "the community. It's not just Arabic. It's from everywhere. That's why, really, I love Dearborn."
From working various jobs to investing his 401k and maxing out credit cards, Ibrahim finally turned his dream into reality.
"So after one year, I came out with Qahwah House. But even when I opened the first location, it wasn't really 100%. I didn't have the espresso machine. I didn't have chairs. I didn't have a table, because I was out of the money," he explained.
Fast forward to now, there are 32 Qahwah House locations across the U.S.
"Do you think your immigrant journey is the epitome of the American dream?" I asked.
"100%. We come here for a reason. Some of them, they come for, change their lifestyle. Some of them, they run away from war. But in the end ... you're going to be proud to be part of this country," said Ibrahim.
Some people asked about the decision to keep the Arabic name Qahwah for his business.
"This is one of the first things the people told me, actually ... I said, listen, I learned to say Starbucks. You know, I learned to say very hard word ... in English, but I learned to do it. Just let them say one word, they're going to learn to do it," he said.
For 250 years, America has been the place where dreams take root and grow. And successful immigrant journeys like Ibrahim's Qahwah story—that's a tradition worth celebrating on our 250th birthday.
