Heritage Coffee’s menu is designed to give visitors “a taste of tradition,” co-owner Hibah Abudaabes said.
Abudaabes, the daughter of Palestinian immigrants, was born and raised in McKinney, while her husband and business partner Al-Mahdi Saleh was born in New York with Yemeni roots.
Abudaabes and Saleh opened their cafe in Frisco’s Rail District last May to serve Middle Eastern-inspired drinks in a space designed to create community, Abudaabes said.
“Most of our drinks have a twist of culture to it, but it’s still the classic American favorites that you find everywhere else, too,” she said.
Must-try menu item
Heritage Coffee’s most popular drink is the pistachio latte, Abudaabes said.
“Being Middle Eastern, specifically Palestinian, we eat a lot of pistachios,” she said. “We put it into everything ... so I really wanted our pistachio latte to stand out.”
After being disappointed by the artificial flavor of pre-made pistachio syrup, Abudaabes and Saleh began making their own pistachio milk in-house, she said.
They started by making a two-ingredient sauce of pistachios and sugar, and when it didn’t melt into the espresso properly, they combined the sauce with milk to create a unique base for their signature drink.
What else?
Heritage Coffee also offers a rotating seasonal menu.
Their summer menu includes both espresso-based and non-coffee items, including a coconut cream latte and a guava hibiscus refresher, according to the business’s social media.
If a seasonal item gets enough positive feedback, it might stick around on the permanent menu, Abudaabes said.
That’s what happened with the vanilla honey latte, a drink that started as a seasonal item but is now a fixture at Heritage.
Abudaabes is also considering making two drinks from the spring menu, the blueberry white mocha and the peach matcha, available year-round, she said.
Staying local
Abudaabes and Saleh work with other small businesses in Dallas-Fort Worth to help bring Heritage Coffee to life.
The cafe offers Ethiopian coffee, Brazilian coffee and an espresso blend, all sourced from Eiland Coffee Roasters in Richardson, Abudaabes said.
“The Brazilian has more of a nutty, chocolatey taste, and then the Ethiopian has more of a floral, fruity aroma,” she said.
In the pastry case, customers can find a selection of baked goods from Ollio Patisserie, a bakery owned by another husband and wife team with locations in Frisco and The Colony.
Food offerings include berry danishes, gourmet toaster pastries and a pistachio croissant to pair with Heritage Coffee’s hallmark pistachio latte.
A new chapter
Since its opening last year, the business has gotten to the point where she and her husband can take off one day a week, but when the business first started, Abudaabes and Saleh were in the cafe “open to close every single day,” she said.
According to Abudaabes, the couple’s demanding schedule is part of what has helped make Heritage Coffee special.
“We just wanted to build that sense of community,” she said. “I feel like because me and Mahdi are constantly present, you can definitely sense that when you walk in here.”
As the Heritage Coffee community grows, the cafe is expanding into the unit next door, Abudaabes said.
Renovations are currently underway and Abudaabes hopes to open the new section with additional seating later this summer, she said.
