East African Coffee House to open soon in Gahanna
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Abdullah and Hodan Ismail will open East African Coffee House in Gahanna.
The shop will showcase Somali coffee culture and traditional recipes.
Inspired by Qahwah House, the Ismails hope to expand their business.
Abdullah and Hodan Ismail hope to become standard bearers for Somali coffee culture.
Just as Michigan-based Qahwah House has helped grow the popularity of Yemeni coffee, the Columbus entrepreneurs hope their new venture can do the same for their native flavors and creations.
The husband and wife team soon will open the East African Coffee House at 4359 Morse Road in the Cherry Bottom Center in Gahanna.
“We want to showcase what we can do,” Abdullah said. “We want this to be an inviting place for everyone to come to, not just people from East Africa.”
The 1,200-square-foot space they selected reflects that.
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Abdullah said they wanted a location that was close to the city’s large East African population concentrated in the Northland area, but also convenient to suburban customers looking for a new and tasty coffee and pastry experience.
The coffee itself is single-origin Ethiopian beans, though the differentiator isn’t merely beans sourced from East Africa.
Abdullah said Somali coffee has its own distinct flavors and touches.
“There are years of tradition, thousand-year-old recipes,” he said. “It’s a long heritage.”
Specialties include the Somali qahwah, which is made from the coffee husks and infused with spices and the Somali shaah (tea), which is flavored with cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and ginger.
All the beverages will have an African influence except one.
The shop will sell matcha, which Abdullah said is because the green tea is a popular beverage and it lets them offer a little more variety.
Food selection includes pastries, cheesecakes, milk cakes, Somali-style cakes, sambusas and a chai-infused tiramisu.
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Many items are sourced from Michigan. The Ismails lived in Dearborn for several years before relocating to Columbus, which is where Hodan grew up.
It was there where they first visited Qahwah House, which is an inspiration for their business
That expanding Yemeni coffee house brand launched in Dearborn in 2017 and has grown to 24 locations. That includes a Columbus shop at 189 E. Main St. and a second in the works at the TruePointe project in Hilliard.
“Dearborn opened our eyes to the possibilities,” Abdullah said. “We see how (founder Ibrahim Alhasbani) showcases their flavors and traditions so elegantly. He’s a trailblazer.”
Expansion is their hope as well.
“If this does well we definitely want to open more locations,” he said.
Chad Boggs of NAI Ohio Equities helped the Ishmails secure the space. They also credited Columbus-based Spectrum Builders for the construction work.
Regular hours will be 7 a.m. to potentially as late as 10 p.m. during the week. On Saturdays and Sundays it may open later in the morning, though the exact hours have not yet been set.