Inspired by his wish for a late-night cafe study spot, 22-year old University of New Mexico graduate student, Taha Raad, along with two of his friends, opened Sukoon Coffeehouse over winter break 2025-2026, on the corner of Monte Vista Boulevard and Central Avenue — walking distance from Main Campus.
Sukoon Coffeehouse serves a variety of espresso and matcha barista drinks, including traditional options such as the Yemeni latte, Adeni tea and Mofawar, along with a selection of traditional food items such as Honeycomb bread, Baklava and Za’atar Manakeesh. The Coffeehouse opens at 7 a.m. everyday; it closes at 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 12 a.m. the rest of the week.
“We’re able to bring in the Arabic-inspired culture and stuff that wasn’t necessarily present here before,” Raad said. “I’m really excited about being in Nob Hill and so close to UNM.”
The cafe operations are a joint effort between Raad, along with UNM law student Ahmed Abdaljalil from Yemen, and UNM medical student Abd Alrahman Elaksher from Egypt, who also helped open and manage the store. Most of the additional employees at Sukoon are also UNM students, Raad said.
Raad said he and his family fled Iraq because of civil unrest, and lived in Las Cruces before moving to Albuquerque to study Chemistry as an undergraduate at UNM.
“A lot of people really enjoy Arabic food and Arabic drinks, but a lot of people have never tried it before,” Raad said. “So that’s kind of our idea is to be able to display the best possible image of Arabic culture and be able to introduce people to that.”
UNM Sophomore Dani Figueroa, who ordered the cheese Manakeesh, said it was his first time at Sukoon and that he likes the amount of windows and natural light within the coffeehouse.
“I tried the cheese (Manakeesh) and it was really good, low-key, I might get another one,” Figueroa said. “It’s nice also because it has late hours so that’s nice too to come and study.”
Raad said the biggest demographic among his customers are students and people who bring their computers to work or study, with an increase in traffic at the start of the UNM spring semester.
“We were busy within the first week, and now that school started it’s gotten even busier. And, there’s a different demographic that we’re catering to — which was our goal from the beginning was to cater to the students,” Raad said. “Not only for students, but people that want a late night option that isn’t a bar or is non-alcoholic.”
UNM PhD student Melissa DeRaad said she visited for the first time and was planning for a long day of studying.
“I’ve been wanting to taste this place, so when I realized I needed to go out and do writing today, I wanted an ‘environment’ and not just be at home because I have quite a bit of work to do right now, I decided that I would just come here,” DeRaad said.
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DeRaad said she has visited Egypt, where she got to try many Arab coffee shops and was excited about one opening in Nob Hill.
“I’ll also introduce my friends to (Sukoon) as well, so it’s pretty exciting,” DeRaad said.
DeRaad ordered honeycomb bread and mango matcha.
“They put mango puree in it, which I thought would go really nice with the matcha, because it’s bitter, but then you got that little bit of sweet,” DeRaad said. “So it’s really nice, and I had them make it with oat milk, which was nice too.”
Running the business while also staying on top of coursework for his Masters degree in Business Administration is often challenging, Raad said, but he said “anything that you want to do, you can find time for it,” with time management and planning.
“You have to trust that everything is going to work out, that you’re going to put your best foot forward and that it will work and just jump right in,” Raad said. “Otherwise, you’re always going to be stuck in this loop of, ‘oh, should I do this or should I not?’ And I think it’s a lot more painful to have regret, like ‘I wish I started this’, as opposed to having a setback or something happening not the way you expected it to or you wanted it to.”
Leila Chapa is the social media and photo editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at socialmedia@dailylobo.com or on X @lchapa06
Paloma Chapa is the multimedia editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at multimedia@dailylobo.com or on X @paloma_chapa88
Leila Chapa is the social media editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at socialmedia@dailylobo.com or on X @lchapa06
Paloma Chapa is the multimedia editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at multimedia@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @paloma_chapa88
