Yemeni Café to Replace Starbucks in the Heart of Dearborn
Detroit – August 27, 2025 (Qahwa World) – The well-known Starbucks branch on Michigan Avenue in East Dearborn has permanently closed after nearly 16 years of operation, paving the way for a Yemeni café that reflects the cultural shifts in a city with one of the most prominent Arab-American communities.
The store, located at the intersection of Michigan Avenue and Oakman Boulevard, officially ceased operations on August 24 and will soon be transformed into a Yemeni café. According to local reports, Moka & Co, a Yemeni coffee brand with multiple branches in Detroit, Ann Arbor, East Lansing, Okemos, and other states, is expected to take over the site. The lease is anticipated to be finalized within weeks, with the café projected to open by late 2025 or early 2026 after renovations.
The closure comes as part of Starbucks’ “Back to Starbucks” initiative, announced in July 2025, which includes closing or converting up to 90 mobile-order and pick-up-only stores across the U.S. by fiscal year 2026 to focus on traditional café formats. While the company has not issued a specific statement about this location, the decision aligns with consumer trends in Dearborn, where Yemeni cafés are steadily gaining ground.
Dearborn, home to one of the largest Arab-American populations in the United States, has become a hub for Yemeni coffee through establishments such as Haraz Coffee House and Qahwah House. These cafés are distinguished by their richly spiced brews, honeycomb bread, and late-night community atmosphere, creating spaces that have often outshined corporate chains.
The upcoming Yemeni café is expected to serve single-origin beans from Yemen alongside a menu that blends tradition and modern trends, including iced pistachio lattes, moka spice lattes, Adeni chai, frozen drinks, refreshers, and matcha lattes.
The shift away from global coffee chains in Dearborn has been fueled both by consumer boycotts tied to geopolitical issues and by a preference for authentic, community-driven experiences. A 2024 report by The Arab American News highlighted a sharp decline in Starbucks sales in the city as customers increasingly turned to Yemeni cafés for better value, cultural connection, and superior taste.
For many residents, the closure of Starbucks marks a continuation rather than a loss. “Starbucks was fine, but Yemeni cafés offer something unique — coffee with a story, from Yemen’s mountains to our cups,” said Aisha Nasser, a regular at Qahwah House.
With renovations already underway, the location is expected to reopen soon under Yemeni management. For East Dearborn, the transformation of a Starbucks into a Yemeni café underscores a broader narrative: the city’s coffee identity is no longer shaped by global chains but by a return to its cultural roots — Yemeni coffee as both tradition and thriving enterprise.
