Coffee Shop Chain Expanding to Downtown Hotel
Proposed Aloft location is one of several new Haraz Coffee Houses planned across the state.
Aloft Hotel. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
A popular Yemeni coffee shop is expanding to downtown Milwaukee, opening at 1230 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr., inside the Aloft Hotel.
Haraz Coffee House, a Michigan-based chain, recently filed construction documents for the space. Plans call for a kitchen buildout and a dining area, covering just over 2,600 square feet.
The fast-growing company was founded in 2021 by Hamzah Nasser and now includes more than 31 locations across the country, with 185 more in development.
Franchisee Madhi Hassan operates an East Side cafe at 2900 N. Oakland Ave. Another began its soft opening last month in Oak Creek under Ali Hamed, who is expected to lead future expansions across the state, according to the Milwaukee Business Journal.
Haraz, named for a mountainous region on the lower west coast of Yemen, offers a range of drinks not widely served at mainstream cafes. Its online menu features spiced Turkish and Saudi coffees, aromatic Adeni teas and qishr, which is brewed with the dried husks from coffee cherries called cascara.
The cafe also serves a variety of flavored lattes, matchas, refreshers and frappes. A rotating selection of pastries and baked goods is available, with trending items like mango mousse cake and Dubai chocolate desserts typically featured. Haraz in Oak Creek advertises a baklava burger—dense pistachio and walnut patties drizzled in honey and sandwiched in a phyllo dough “bun.”
Haraz is one of several new and upcoming Yemeni cafes in the area, each offering authentic drinks and snacks rooted in Middle Eastern culture. Others include Qamaria Yemeni Coffee Co., Al Wadi Coffee House, Azal Coffee and Qahwah House.
The cafes, which don’t serve alcohol and often stay open late, have emerged as popular third spaces for patrons—especially the Muslim community—seeking connection beyond tavern culture.
To learn more about Haraz Coffee House, see Urban Milwaukee’s previous reporting.
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