PROPOSED DESIGN: Architectural rendering of the planned Sana’a Café at Prospect Park Plaza. Exterior details, including signage and colors, remain subject to revision and Town review.
Credit : James
A new coffeehouse with roots in Yemen’s centuries-old coffee culture is planning to open in the heart of downtown Danville. Sana’a Café is expected to occupy the former Starbucks space at Prospect Park Plaza, 398 Hartz Avenue, bringing specialty coffee, spiced teas and Middle Eastern-inspired pastries to a familiar downtown address.
Named for Sana’a, Yemen’s capital, the café concept draws on a country with a prominent place in coffee history. Yemen helped introduce coffee to the wider world through centuries of cultivation and trade. Today, Yemeni-style coffeehouses are known for combining distinctive beverages with a strong tradition of hospitality and conversation.
Sana’a Café’s offerings have included Yemeni-inspired coffee drinks, creamy Adeni chai flavored with warming spices, specialty lattes and desserts such as honeycomb pastries and baklava. For downtown visitors, the proposed café could provide an alternative to conventional coffee shops—one where customers can discover different flavors while meeting friends or spending time in the plaza.
The project is still progressing through the Town’s development review process. The owner has retained a new architect, and Danville staff is working with the design team on materials needed for a Land Use Permit for outdoor seating. Interior plans are being finalized, and a tenant improvement application is anticipated for submission in October 2026.
The exterior appearance is also being refined. Preliminary renderings depict a light-colored façade, arched windows and
a prominent café sign, but those images are not the final approved design. The design team is expected to update the signage and color palette in response to Town feedback and downtown design standards.
The current goal is to open during the 2026 holiday season. That timetable remains tentative and depends on completion of the renovation work, required approvals and inspections. An official opening date has not been announced.
If the project proceeds as planned, the former Starbucks storefront will gain a new tenant and downtown Danville will gain another place to pause between shopping, dining and community activities. The café’s proposed outdoor seating could also add to the pedestrian activity and social atmosphere that help define Prospect Park Plaza.
For residents who remember the location as Starbucks, the address will be familiar.
What’s being planned inside is something different: a contemporary gathering place built around Yemeni coffee traditions and the simple pleasure of sharing a cup with neighbors.
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