Yemeni Coffee Is Taking Over The Bay Area
Yemeni Coffee Is Opening All Over The San Francisco Bay Area; Ohio Yemeni Coffee Shop Latest To Open In Downtown SF, Late Night Coffee Sacramento, Oakland, SF
Why Are There So Many Yemeni Coffee Shops Now?
During the pandemic, a lof people became isolated either because of quarantine, WFH, friends moving away, places closing down and a growing need for third spaces, especially in the tech-heavy Bay Area where places have been known to close early.
There is a growing desire to build community, places like this have historically been the types of venues to foster such bonding. On top of that, people are drinking less alcohol, cost of going out has risen, and people are realising the cost of WFH has on their lives, as well as how much they took work friendships for granted.
San Francisco Bay Area Yemeni Coffee
Before 2022, there were no Yemeni coffee shops in the Bay Area. Yemeni coffee shops are sprouting up all over the San Francisco Bay Area.
This may seem pretty random but if you research migration patterns, you will see the Bay Area, Central Valley, New York and Michigan are popular areas where Yemeni immigrants have settled over the years.
Most of you have heard of the Delah, Haraz and Sana’s Cafe, but now we have a new Midwest one entering the market. The latest chain to lay down roots here in San Francisco comes all the way from Ohio of all places.
It’s off to the races as these coffee chains show no signs of slowing down and with the growth comes more late-night coffee options, which hopefully inspires other coffee shops to follow suit.
Related Reads on Eddie’s List
Haraz Coffee
Haraz Coffee is the largest of the Yemeni coffee chains with a Bay Area presence as they operate in 16 states across the U.S. Currently, they have 5 California locations (two coffee shops in downtown San Francisco, Fremont, Roseville & Folsom) but that could soon change as they are franchising more locations.
Sana’a Cafe, San Francisco
Sana’asan Cafe started off in downtown San Francisco in 2023 and has been growing quickly. It now has 7 locations in San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, San Rafael, Los Angeles and Lake Forest. Other locations (assumedly franchises or new locations) are in Redwood City, Mountain View & Hayward (not listed on the main website). Expect more places to open up as they are seeking partnerships on their website.
Delah Coffee, San Francisco
Delah opened it’s first Bay Area location in San Francisco the summer of 2022 and shortly thereafter, opened up another location in Oakland the following year in early 2023. They also have 7 locations now: 5 Bay Area locations (Berkeley & Dublin) as well as outposts in San Diego and Naperville, IL. You can expect more locations, and likely ones beyond the Bay Area, now that they have opened up a franchise business model.
Qamaria Yemeni Coffee Co., Dearborn Michigan
First location opened up in 2021 in Michigan and now has 3 locations in the Bay Area San Francisco, Concord & Pleasanton and another in the Sacramento area (Folsom) with plans for a 2nd Sacramento area location and a third likely on the way. They are the fastest growing coffee shop on this list (12 in 2021; 25 in 2024
Arwa Yemeni Coffee, Richardson, Texas
Awra Yemeni Coffee features 12 locations including their sole Bay Area location in Sunnyvale, but if the competition provides any clues, don’t expect it to be the only one for much longer. If there was any doubt, yes, they are franchising as well.
Heyma Coffee, Berkeley
Heyma Coffee is one of the new coffee shops on this list, having opened in 2025. It currently has two locations (the other in SOMA), but it has made the news with their Dubai Chocolate Lattes. It currently does not list any franchising plans or opportunities at the moment.
Marib Coffee, Westerville Ohio
Marib Coffee is the latest Yemeni coffee shop with plans to lay down roots in San Francisco (Union Square, 2027). They have plans to open up 5 locations in California. If the upcoming downtown San Francisco location is another like the first location in Ohio (open until midnight), we may get another late-night coffee shop.
Gastrodiplomacy In The United States
The first thing that came to mind with the growth of Yemeni coffee shops was gastrodiplomacy, specifically the Thai Government Culinary Diplomacy Program in which the government help funded Thai restaurants abroad. I found no such program specifically for Yemeni coffee.
Late Night Yemeni Coffee Shops Bay Area
For the longest time, one of the biggest complaints about San Francisco coffee/cafe scene was lack of late night options. For those old enough to remember, Starbucks operated a 24 hour spot in Union Square at one point and the Laurel Heights location was open until 11pm I believe.
You would think that given the boom of WFH and people crowding cafes to work from since the pandemic that more late night options would surface but they haven’t, at least aside from Yemeni coffee shops.
Some places are open until 11pm and even midnight which is amazing given the main options are diners and gas station coffee shops with pots roasting for over 8 hours. On top of that, Yemeni coffee shops act more like third places rather than transactional American coffee shops with uncomfortable seating which we have been seeing as 3rd, 4th, 5th wave (I lost count) have sprouted all over the Bay Area in the last 5 years.
We’ll see how local and national chains respond to the competition.
How Is Yemeni Coffee Different?
Typically, coffee is darker and more complex than the more acidic and lighter/medium roasts you see in the Bay Area. As a dark roast coffee drinker, I for one welcome this. I typically prefer roasts from Graffeo and Verve. Read more about the Yemeni coffee process.
If you would like to support my efforts with informing the public with important & timely news, feel free to buy me a Yemeni coffee below.
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