A new coffee concept is looking to grow its presence with a new location in metro Atlanta. Arwa Yemeni Coffee, a growing franchise based in Texas, recently signed a lease to open its first location in Georgia at 11160 Medlock Bridge Road (Johns Creek Festival) in Johns Creek.
Arwa's founders and owners, Faris Almatrahi, Nora Soofi, Yazan Soofi, and Susan Shihab have all at some point had family members who owned and/or farmed coffee in Yemen. The business partners opened the first Arwa in Richardson, Texas, part of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, in December 2022. The business has gone well and the group began to offer franchises in February 2024.
According to the Arwa website, the business is a "Multi-Award Winning Yemeni Coffee Shop" with six locations currently open, including five in Texas and one in Bolingbrook, Illinois.
As for the name, "As a majority female-owned company we wanted to pay homage to a strong female figure in Yemeni history, Queen Arwa. As the first hujjah queen in the muslim world, queen Arwa was the only woman to hold both religious and political authority simultaneously. As a result of her intelligence and compassion for the well-being of her people, Yemen’s economical growth and social development flourished. Queen Arwa was a native of Haraz, an area well known in Yemen for its superior coffee beans."
Speaking of Haraz, that's the name of another Yemeni coffee franchise that recently opened its first location in metro Atlanta. Haraz Coffee House, based in Dearborn, Michigan, "soft opened" in Midtown's University House (930 Spring Street) this past weekend after several delays pushed its planned August debut.
Interestingly, as opposed to Haraz which offers some food in addition to beverages, Arwa's website indicates that their menu is comprised exclusively of drinks including coffees, teas, and smoothies, but no food.
Yemeni coffee shops are growing in popularity across the country, as CNN explains in this report last October. Beyond a differentiated product, another reason for the rise in popularity of the coffee shops and their "third place" positioning is their welcoming and elevated atmosphere as well as their evening hours, with most open until 10pm or later. Arwa's website suggests that operating hours are typically until 10PM during the week and as late as midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.
According to data from analytics firm Placer.ai, the average "dwell time" at Starbucks and Dunkin' is 10-14 minutes, whereas a sampling of Haraz locations revealed an average of 56 minutes! People tend to stay longer when the space feels designed more for lounging and connecting than the "grab & go" model that Starbucks popularized but is now trying to pivot away from.
A stone's throw from the new Arwa, an existing Dunkin' has operated in the area for about ten years and has a drive-thru, but offers what is essentially a completely different product aimed at a completely different customer.
Arwa's lease in Johns Creek was executed in late October, so the shop should be open sometime in the first half of 2026.
Have you ever had Yemeni coffee? Are you excited for the opening of Arwa Yemeni Coffee in Johns Creek? If Arwa expands in metro Atlanta, where else would you like to see them open?
Please share your thoughts below.
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