[su_carousel source=”media: 35765,35749,35750,35751,35752,35753,35754,35756,35759,35760,35761,35762,35763″ limit=”65″ link=”lightbox” target=”blank” width=”800″ height=”540″ responsive=”no” items=”1″]<\/p>\n
<\/b>Lamea Abuelrous has her own definition of the \u201cAmerican Dream.\u201d And hers began in Palestine.<\/p>\n
\u201cSuccess is not only about money. It\u2019s about earning love, trust and support from your community,\u201d said Abuelrous, who owns Temo\u2019s Caf\u00e9, a coffee shop located on the corner of 24th and Harrison Streets in the heart of Mission District. \u201cIf you don\u2019t struggle in life, you will never learn \u2026 I had a hard time but it made me stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n
The struggle paid off. In early July, Abuelrous celebrated the three year anniversary of her business, which she opened on July 1, 2014.<\/p>\n
But Abuelrous\u2019 journey to the United States began long before that. The married mother of three was born and raised in Gaza, where her grandfather owned a tailor shop, designing suits. Raised around fashion, she knew that she wanted to study abroad and break into the fashion industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was bored of the [Palestinian] traditions,\u201d she said. \u201cI wanted to learn about different cultures and people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Originally setting her sights on Europe, Abuelrous\u2019 cousin (who lived in New Jersey) convinced her to move to the United States. After being refused the first time, Abuelrous endured an eight-month process before moving to the Bay Area in 1992 on a student Visa. Her goal was to study fashion in San Francisco, but after her first day, she decided to withdraw completely due to her language barrier.<\/p>\n
Her struggles with English continued until she met her husband, Hany, who was also born in Palestine. When Hany opened a restaurant, she studied the way the customers communicated, and gradually learned the language.<\/p>\n
As her three children grew older and more independent, she had the idea to open her own shop.<\/p>\n
After looking around, Hany found a place with the perfect size and location. He wanted his wife\u2019s business to be close to his smoke shop located on 16th Street in case of an emergency.<\/p>\n
Though the name \u201cTemo\u201d is actually her youngest son\u2019s nickname, some patrons of the coffee shop have offered their own interpretations. A Brazilian customer said that \u201ctemo\u201d means \u201cgood coffee,\u201d and one Mexican customer told her that Temo is some sort of hero in his hometown.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s that same customer base that inspires Temo\u2019s drink menu.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince I\u2019m in the Latino community, I had to make drinks for them, of course,\u201d she said. She created the Horchata Latte (hot or blended), the Mexican Mocha (made with Chocolate Abuelita) and three types of chai teas, which aren\u2019t necessarily associated with the Latino community, but she takes pride in them.<\/p>\n
Her coffee beans are displayed on the wall and are sold in bags. Her products range from places like Costa Rica, Vietnam, Guatemala, Brazil, Colombia, India and more. She depends on customer feedback in order to make improvements on her food and drinks, and she makes custom orders if the customer desires something that is not specifically on the menu.<\/p>\n
But being an immigrant business owner in a predominantly Latino neighborhood, Abuelrous can\u2019t ignore the harmful anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies that have overtaken the nation in the era of Trump.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt frustrates me when the president speaks of Middle Easterners, Latinos or any group of people in a negative way,\u201d she said. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t understand that immigrants come here to find a better opportunity \u2026 Immigrants make this country. We are all immigrants, unless you are Native American.\u201d<\/p>\n Many of her current and past employees are hard-working immigrants, much like herself. Now a U.S. citizen, Abuelrous gives people from places like Mexico, Guatemala, and the Philippines the chance to make a living for themselves, hiring them through \u201chelp wanted\u201d signs in the storefront or by word of mouth.<\/p>\n But being in the community also means giving back. Over the past three years, she has hosted, catered and even volunteered for events at local schools and organizations, such as Mission Girls, which is located directly across the street from her job.<\/p>\n She donates bagels, cream cheese, pizza, beverages and more to the kids in the neighborhood. One time, a small group of kids who had just gotten out of school stopped by and asked if they could make their own bagels. She let the kids put on gloves and go behind the counter to show them how to make the bagels.<\/p>\n \u201cBeing a part of the Latino Community has taught me about their culture,\u201d she said. \u201cTheir culture is filled with people who carry strong religious beliefs, family values and a strong desire to work hard, all of which I admire. It has been a pleasure serving my customers and I thank everyone for the support.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [su_carousel source=”media: 35765,35749,35750,35751,35752,35753,35754,35756,35759,35760,35761,35762,35763″ limit=”65″ link=”lightbox” target=”blank” width=”800″ height=”540″ responsive=”no” items=”1″] Lamea Abuelrous has her own definition of the \u201cAmerican Dream.\u201d And hers began in Palestine. \u201cSuccess is not only about money. It\u2019s about earning love, trust and support from your community,\u201d said Abuelrous, who owns Temo\u2019s Caf\u00e9, a coffee shop located on the corner of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":35765,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3929],"tags":[14802,14806,7655,14804],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-35748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en","tag-lamea-abuelrous","tag-mission-community","tag-palestine-en","tag-temos-cafe","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n