Sehrish Naqvi, a frequent chai drinker, is a newcomer to Qamaria Yemeni Coffee Company, which opened on Feb. 13 and is at its busiest after nighttime prayers during the month of Ramadan.
“I guess we really needed this," she said. "We needed some places to hang out in Albany. We needed some coffee places, some desi food, halal places definitely.”
Naqvi is amidst a bustling crowd of all ages at Qamaria, on a Friday night during Ramadan. After breaking their fast and attending prayers at the mosque, Muslims in the area flock to places like Qamaria for a late-night caffeine fix or a snack. Coffeehouses like Qamaria, which is open until 2 a.m. during the month of Ramadan, have become hotspots nationwide for Muslims.
Qamaria is only one of the franchises of Yemeni coffeehouses that have spread across the country. With their late-night offerings of coffee, chai, and Middle Eastern pastries, they have become lively spaces where customers work, study, or socialize late into the night.
29-year-old Maryam Sajid remembers many long drives from Hudson to the Capital Region to find halal restaurant options when she was growing up. Now living in the Capital Region, she says Qamaria has become a staple during Ramadan for herself and her family, who live nearby.
“We look forward to it, especially with most of the younger generation being addicted to coffee," she said. "It’s kind of like a reward right after iftar, you just run. Today, I came with my sisters, usually I come with my husband after 9 or 10 after putting the kids to bed. We just come and have a cup of coffee and we just talk and it’s nice.”
This year, three Yemeni coffeehouses are opening in the area – Qamaria opened in early February, as did Shibam Coffeehouse, and a Qahwah House branch will open later this month.
“We didn’t have anything like this in the tri-state area, and I feel like it’s a very community-building experience, since we didn’t have something like this," Sajid said. "As you can see, it’s fully packed at all times, and since it’s Ramadan, it’s amazing.”
Ghous Barak is the owner of Latham’s Qamaria branch. He says the Ramadan rush drove him to nearly double his staff. Although Ramadan was initially overwhelming, Barak says he and his staff have been able to adjust accordingly.
“Honestly the first night and two for Ramadan got really hectic. Basically, the line was outside, like out the door," he said. "But now that we kind of have more staff, they're more trained up. We can process them faster, keep the line moving faster, so yeah, we got a handle on it.”
Barak hopes to keep the energy from Ramadan going in the future.
“Ramadan has its own vibes – if you know, you know. It’s kind of happiness kind of vibes, everyone’s smiling and enjoying themselves," he said. "Hopefully, we keep that through after Ramadan too.”
Abdulrahman Mohammed, who has worked at Qamaria since its opening, said that the rush on the weekends can be stressful, but places like Qamaria can strengthen community.
“It just feels amazing that we get to be the kind of place that strengthens our community even more, that people feel they can go the mosque, and they can come here," he said. "We have that sense of unity, and that’s one of the things we’re most grateful for. It’s really a blessing.”
Denis Klapija, president of the Bosnian Muslim community center in Watervliet, comes to Qamaria regularly with his family and friends since it opened. Klapija moved to the Capital Region from Queens in 2002, where he used to run a café similar to Qamaria. He says options like Qamaria for Muslims - especially young Muslims - are long overdue.
“This is perfect. This is something that the community really needs," he said. "I was the owner of a café like this a long time ago, back in Queens. I was always thinking about our youth, where to hang out, where to drink coffee. And thank God, Alhamdulillah, we have a place to hang out now.”
