The Grind Behind the Valiant Arch: Inside Haraz Coffee House
The shoe store next to Boyds sat empty for over six years. Now it’s a stylish Yemeni coffee house with gold chandeliers in the front, and soft sofas in the back.
The lights are finally back on at 1822 Chestnut, right next to Boyds.
After months of staring at “Brewing Soon” signs next to Boyds, Haraz Coffee House is open, and the first thing you see when you walk in is a pair of gold chandeliers roughly the size of a Smart car.
The Shoes That Came Before
Longtime Ramblers will remember this as ToBox, the men’s shoe store with the dark blue walls and the deer antlers in the middle of the room. It closed in 2019, and the storefront has been empty ever since.
The floors above are apartments now, but the retail level still has “Valiant” carved over the entrance and that polychromatic terracotta arch around the door. We slow down to look at it every time we pass. For most of this year the windows had “Brewing Soon” signs with a gold flame logo showing through the glass, and we checked on it more often than we’d like to admit.
A Small Cathedral for Espresso
Because it’s a historic building they kept the old stuff. The terracotta doorway is intact, pineapples and all. Inside, the plaster ceiling still has its scrollwork and rosettes, and right under it hang two huge tiered gold chandeliers. It’s a LOT, and we mean that as a compliment, we promise!
Inside, the original plaster ceilings with their scrollwork and floral rosettes are on full display. Add two enormous gold-tiered chandeliers and the front room feels less like a coffee shop and more like a small cathedral for espresso.
The Back Room Is One Of The Main Events
We almost missed the back room so please don’t make that mistake! Past the counter there’s a second space with arched niches lit from behind and covered in patterned tile. It also has a long marble bar with caramel leather stools and a cream tufted velvet sofa set between two more lit arches, all filled with people chilling over their laptops or chatting with friends, with some doing both (we envy their multitasking skills.)
None of this was accidental, by the way: the design brief called for tiles imported from Turkey, backlit arches, and ornate handrails crafted locally, all working together to marry Middle Eastern architecture with the historic Philadelphia shell.
From the Haraz Mountains to Chestnut Street
The name comes from the Haraz Mountains in western Yemen, where the coffee is grown organically and dried in the sun. The menu leans traditional, with Mofawar (coffee, cardamom and cream), Adeni tea, Jubani, and spiced coffees made with ginger, cinnamon and saffron. If you’re sticking with what you know, there’s a full espresso menu too, plus pistachio lattes, matcha and refreshers. We went with the cold brew and the iced banana latte, and both were delicious.
By the door there’s a shelf of Harazi, Adeni and Turkish beans in medium and dark roasts. Next to them are thermal carafes and gold dallahs, the long-spouted pots traditionally used to serve Arabic coffee, in case you’ve been wondering what those are.
Come Hungry, Leave With a Dubai Brownie
The pastry case is filled with all kinds of deliciousness! When we showed up they had pain au chocolat, almond croissants, apricot tarts, apple turnovers, coffee cake muffins and chocolate soufflés, plus spinach-feta puffs (!!). The dessert case next to it has strawberry mascarpone cake, caramel mascarpone, Dubai brownies, caramel pecan bars, cannoli cake and a mixed berry tart. So TONS of options to get a sugar and/or carb high.
Two Down, One to Brew
With Haraz open, that makes TWO of the three Yemeni coffee shops headed to the Rittenhouse area now official open! MOTW Coffee & Pastries at 2101 Market Street opened earlier this year and Haraz just joined the party here at 1822 Chestnut. Still to come: Jabal Coffee House at 1524 Chestnut, which looks like it may happen next year as no activity has been happening.
Haraz’s Rittenhouse location is the third in the Philly area for franchise owners Farah Khan and Hamza Shaikh. The brand itself has grown fast! Haraz Coffee House was founded in Michigan in 2021 by Yemeni entrepreneur Hamzeh Nasser and has expanded to more than 30 locations in the United States, with more than 180 cafes in development.
Part of what makes these spaces feel different from your usual coffee shop is the hours and the intent behind them; our Haraz has just opened and will gradually extend their hours into the night, to offer a true, third space.
Go Say Marhaba
With Boyds next door and that terracotta arch finally lit up again, this stretch of Chestnut feels a whole lot more alive than it did in the past. The staff is still coming up to speed but go say hi, grab a Mofawar, snag a Dubai brownie, and post up in one of those arched-niche nooks in the back— you know you deserve it!
