Yemeni Coffee Shop Offers Free Meals, Extended Hours for Ramadan

Rahha Yemeni Coffee and Brunch in Detroit gave away free meals and drinks Monday to people before Ramadan started. The holy month begins Tuesday evening and lasts until March 19. The Midtown restaurant at 4750 Woodward Ave. packed with Wayne State University students, workers and neighbors who ate ghallaba, beef kafta with eggs, and shakshuka, and drank adeni tea and mufawar coffee.

Hours will stretch past midnight during the month. Iftar boxes cost $10 to $15. Water, dates, lentil soup, and chicken breast or beef kafta over rice come in the $10 box.

Cofounder Fadel Al-Marsoumi and several Wayne State University graduates opened the restaurant less than a year ago. They saw students had nowhere to break their fast in Midtown Detroit.

"Some of these students were mentioning 'Where are we going to eat? I don't want to fill myself up with just some desserts and coffee,'" Al-Marsoumi said, according to The Detroit News.

Bernice McDaniel converted to Islam before the pandemic. The 53-year-old Detroit resident said having somewhere close to work makes Ramadan easier.

Hanan Jaffar felt excited about a Yemeni coffee shop opening where Detroit Muslims need places to eat. The 34-year-old lives in Dearborn Heights.

"There's not a lot of other authentic Yemeni coffee shops in the area," Jaffar said per The Detroit News.

Metro Detroit volunteers have packed food and helped families in need before Ramadan in recent years. Volunteers and groups like Islamic Relief USA organized these efforts in the weeks leading up to the month.

Students and first responders get 10% off.

Al-Marsoumi added: "We believe in a culmination of culture. ... We represent Yemen, Palestine, Iraq, Pakistan. A lot of us are Wayne State alum ... it took us back in time, like time machine as in, 'What did we want to eat on campus when we wanted good, healthy fresh food?'"