Moka & Co., a cafe specializing in Yemeni coffee, is set to open its first Rhode Island location at 190 Angell St. this November, taking over the storefront previously occupied by cookie company Feed the Cheeks.
Moka & Co. operates more than 15 cafes across the country and primarily serves ethically sourced coffee from Yemen. The new College Hill shop will serve the company’s signature drinks such as chai, fruit refreshers and mufawar — a spiced coffee made with cardamom. Feed the Cheeks’s cookies and soft serve will also be offered alongside Moka’s menu.
“This isn’t a shutdown,” Feed the Cheeks wrote in a September Instagram post. “It’s a step forward, a collaboration with another brand we admire and a chance to keep our presence alive in Providence while we grow.”
Founded in Providence during the pandemic, Feed the Cheeks offers cookies and beverages and opened its Angell Street location in December 2022. In July, the company closed its Wayland Square shop to focus on a new Garden City Center location in Cranston. Its Angell Street storefront has remained closed since early fall.
Donald Walker, Moka & Co.’s chief brand officer, said the expansion to College Hill reflects both the company’s student-centered brand and its mission to share Yemen’s often-overlooked coffee heritage.
The company views itself as an “ambassador of coffee heritage,” Walker said, noting that Yemen was one of the first regions to cultivate coffee as a beverage. “What we do with Moka & Co. contributes to uplifting communities and families — farmers that have owned these coffee plantations for generations,” he added. “Everything is naturally organic because they don’t really have the technology or equipment to harvest.”
Walker said most of Moka & Co.’s cafes stay open until midnight, offering late-night spaces for students to gather. The Angell Street location will feature the same communal atmosphere that the company has brought to its other college-town locations in Michigan and New York. These branches have hosted events in partnership with nearby universities — something Moka & Co. hopes to continue in Providence, Walker said.
“Moka & Co. is all about togetherness and creating places where people can come together and create memories,” Walker said. “We stand by our products, but I think what people really care about most is having a safe place, a third space to come to … whether that’s to meet up with friends or to do a little bit of work or studying.”
With the Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship just around the corner, Moka & Co. also foresees collaborations with student entrepreneurs. “We like to build spaces that open up opportunities for events, … entrepreneurship and creativity,” Walker said.
Students expressed excitement about the new spot, especially its late hours and cultural roots.
Aadil Khan ’27 said he thinks there’s a lack of third spaces for community members to gather. “Being from Pakistan as well, it’s also important in our culture,” he said, explaining that people will hang out at cafes at night instead of heading to events.
For Khan, the cafe’s opening is especially meaningful given the current global climate. “I have an affinity toward supporting Arab-run businesses, and I would for sure see myself going there,” he said.
Tanvin Araen ’28 said Yemeni cafes hold cultural significance, especially during Ramadan. “After iftar, which is when we break the fast, (people) would normally go to these Yemeni cafes to hang out and talk,” Araen said. “Bringing that to Thayer … is an awesome thing.”
But Araen said he’ll also miss the familiarity of Feed the Cheeks. To him, the store had a “really good environment” and always smelled “like warm cookies and bakeries.”
Other students said they’re simply excited to have a new spot nearby.
“I’ve never had Yemeni coffee before, so (it’s) very intriguing,” said Sadie May ’26. “We could definitely use more coffee shops” near Thayer Street, she added, pointing to the Thayer Street Starbucks’s sudden closure last month.
“I fell in love with Yemeni coffee when I visited Socotra (a Yemeni island) with my family years ago,” wrote Ashton Higgins ’26 in a message to The Herald. “I live in the building Moka is moving into, and I can’t wait to have a taste of Yemeni coffee again, right outside my front door.”
Moka & Co. has not yet announced an exact opening date, but Walker hopes they will start serving students in November.
