While the sun was going to bed, a coffee belonging to Palestinians in Los Gatos enlightened life while dozens of people observing Ramadan stopped to break their fast last Saturday.
Kenz Coffee Bar operates from a trailer opposite Leigh High School and next to the recreational and educational organization Bay Area Muslim Recreation, or Bamrec. During the month of Ramadan, they organized a series of events, launching new coffee flavors and organizing a catering truck Iftar for people observing Ramadan. Mohammad Subeh, emergency doctor and owner of Kenz, said that he wanted to organize these events to bring people together and create a feeling of community, because he thought people became more isolated in the past decade.
“It is really to open a space so that people are here among their fellow men, to learn from each other, and also not to close their eyes on many difficulties that people face – not only locally, but abroad,” said Subeh.
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, recognizing the month when the Koran would have been revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. Muslims who observe Ramadan refrain from dawn food and water to sunset. Iftar refers to the evening meal when they finish their fast. According to a study on the Muslim community in the bay region led by professors from the University of Santa Clara and the UC Berkeley, around 250,000 people in the Bay region, or 3.5%, are Muslim.
The area was decorated with a Palestinian flag suspended by the counter and string lights and crescent moons suspended from the awnings. A table of dried dates and bottled water has been put in place so that people break their fasts and the carpets were deployed so that people pray. Ysg Halal Yeeshaans Grubb parked a catering truck in the parking lot and served burgers and loaded fries while Crepivore Ryan Fradj owned pancakes for dessert.
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Ramadan’s decorations are seen around Kenz Coffee Roasters in Los Gatos, California, Saturday March 22, 2025. (Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group)
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Ramadan’s decorations are seen around Kenz Coffee Roasters in Los Gatos, California, Saturday March 22, 2025. (Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group)
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It was not the first time that Ramadan event has been at the cafe. Subeh came to the United States as a refugee, and he said that his parents taught him, as well as his brothers and sisters, to understand the responsibility that is accompanied by their privileges. Since October 2023, Subeh has been using the space to educate the public on the struggles of the Palestinians, and last year, their collection of Ramadan funds collected funds to provide aid and nutrition to the inhabitants of Gaza. Subeh said they have also worked with several non -governmental organizations, such as Heal Palestine, to help evacuate children and provide food, health supplies and children in education and other wars by the war in Gaza.
“Having coffee is a privilege. Being able to create these spaces is a privilege, so we do not only use it to create experiences that are comfortable for us,” said Subeh. “This really pushes us outside our comfort zones to make sure that our human companions who do not live with the comfort that we appreciate can have a voice, maybe, can be seen.”
May Nass, a designer of Bamrec’s experience, added that, as Muslims observe Ramadan, they do not engage in things that are generally allowed, like food, and this gives their community an overview of what less lucky people live in the whole world, while helping them to build a discipline and to accomplish things that they do not think they can do.
Nass said that she hoped that the event would encourage people to develop a connection with the store and return to more events in the future.
And as people spent time with their loved ones during the Iftar, they thought about how Ramadan’s observation brought them closer to their communities and their religions.
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The evening came while community members are preparing to break their fast during an Iftar event in the Kenz Coffee Roasters in Los Gatos, California, Saturday March 22, 2025. (Thien-An Truong for the group of news from the Bay region)
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The evening came while community members are preparing to break their fast during an Iftar event in the Kenz Coffee Roasters in Los Gatos, California, Saturday March 22, 2025. (Thien-An Truong for the group of news from the Bay region)
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Wadia Mahzabeen, a 27 -year -old Oakland resident, attended the event with her friend and her friend’s mother. Normally, she would break it quickly with friends where they will all go to a mosque to eat, but her friend had seen the Kenz event online and they decided to leave.
She said that Ramadan’s observation helped her align with her values ​​and be more intentional about how she spent her time and how she interacted with others. This year, his accent was on the community.
“Usually, these holidays were very close to my family, so it was really special to have other ways to access these parts of me who are outside my family,” said Mahzabeen.
Omar and Tarek Dahbour, 17 -year -old twin brothers from San Mateo, said they had attended the Kenz event because it allowed them to see their old friends and extend their network while celebrating their religion and helping small businesses. Tarek Dhabour said he was aimed at staying outside of social media as much as possible and being respectful towards the old and young people, while Omar Dhabour said that he had used time to get closer to his religion.
“Fasting is certainly not easy, but it allows you to know that other people do it too and that you can celebrate with them and take advantage of this time and self-reflection,” said Omar Dhabour.
Subeh extended to Ramadan’s goal as part of Kenz. The name was chosen by his son, from the Arabic word signifying treasure, referring to the way in which the roasting of coffee unlocks the “treasure” inside the beans. Likewise, Ramadan’s month gives Muslims the opportunity to “unlock the treasure” which is in themselves.
“It is important for us to continue to discover this in ourselves and in our human companions,” said Subeh.
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