‘We’re really lucky to have them’: A third space for Nashville Muslims offers food and community during Ramadan nights

We are now more than three weeks into Ramadan, the holiest month on the Islamic calendar. During it, Muslims fast from sun-up to sundown, and here in Nashville, the place to eat and gather with loved ones in the dark has been, perhaps surprisingly, a coffeeshop.

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Yasmin, who is married to one of the brothers in the family that owns The Horn, writes labels for desserts in the case before the coffeeshop opens its doors at 10 p.m.

At 10 p.m. on a recent Saturday night, everyone is pouring in — no pun intended — to The Horn.

More: At The Horn, Nashville’s immigrant communities find connection and belonging

They’re dressed in their best outfits from Tarawih, the night prayer, at their respective mosques. And everyone is buzzing — hugging and laughing — though they’re piling into a long line that will last at least 45 minutes.

“I was just saying that yesterday, I was seeing people that I haven’t seen in forever, And we’re all reuniting here — all different cultures, backgrounds, everybody’s been coming. It’s not just Somali. So that’s what’s been enjoyable about it. I get to see my friends, everybody’s friends,” says Huda Hasan with a laugh.

Hasan is married to one of the brothers in the large Somali family that owns The Horn. She’s come out from the packed kitchen where the laughter is so rambunctious, it spills out to the loud crowd of people waiting to order.

“I was born and raised here in Nashville, and I never got to experience Ramadan in a Muslim country,” she explains. “So it is nice having to experience it here.”

Hasan’s parents, though, have told her about what Ramadan was like before moving here, and it’s made her nostalgic for a sense of community she’s never fully had.

“We don’t get much of this living in the West. You know, we don’t live in a Muslim country, so celebrating Ramadan, a lot of times people don’t feel it,” she says. “But this is a great way to have like the younger people still be able to enjoy this month in a way that they feel like they’re back home even.”

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A customer greets some of The Horn’s family members at the ordering counter.

Anas Saba is one of those younger people. As a 20-something Yemeni, also born and raised in Nashville, his Ramadan experiences have been similar to Huda’s.

“For Muslims in America, sometimes, Ramadan feels more serious because, you know, we still have to go to school. We still have to go to work. You don’t get as much time off,” he says. “In some ways, it’s a good thing. It definitely feels more spiritual. You definitely feel it is more of a challenge.”

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The Horn’s cheesy breakfast sambusa, which is available all day (or night)

Saba runs the popular social media account and food tour, Nashville Hidden Gems, which mostly highlights immigrant-owned restaurants in the area. Because of Ramadan, Anas has had to record a month’s worth of content ahead of time since he can’t eat during the day and most places close around sundown. If he were elsewhere in the world, things would just be opening up.

“People are kind of taking it pretty easy during the day,” he says of Muslim-majority countries. “A lot of shops are closed. I mean, people are not working as much. School’s off. But then at night, the whole city kind of comes alive. People are out, and they have energy. They’re excited to see their friends. They’re sipping tea, shopping. It’s like the whole community just becomes nocturnal for a month.”

From the outside looking in, there’s a lot of focus on what Muslims give up during Ramadan — food, water, intimacy — but everyone here is sharing how much they gain this month — deeper connection to not only God, but their family, friends and themselves.

More: This Is Nashville’s ‘Observing Ramadan and celebrating Eid al-Fitr in Middle Tennessee’

Iftar keeps coming up. It’s the breaking of the fast, and seemingly everyone’s favorite part of Ramadan — not because of the food though, but because of the chance to consciously and consistently gather with those you love, every night for a month.

The Horn’s Ramadan Nights have been an extension of that.

“I think we’re really lucky to have them here, and to have them kind of fill the space in the community that I think was really needed, just having a place people can get together. It’s beautiful to see people have another kind of third space to go to,” Saba says. “I think it’s something that’s been really missing in the Muslim community here in Nashville.”

The final Ramadan Nights at The Horn are Friday and Saturday from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. Ramadan ends Tuesday, April 9, with the celebration of Eid al-Fitr.

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Most customers waited at least 45 minutes to order chai and sambusas at The Horn on a recent Saturday night.