In addition to coffee and baked goods, the new coffee shop provides lunch and dinner items such as sandwiches, subs, salads and halal food items available from its refrigerated grab-and-go station – as well as various frozen shelves offering additional kosher and halal items throughout its cafeteria.

Little Flower Cafe joins an emerging halal restaurant scene in western Astoria, where Muslim restaurants have been making an impressionful statement about diversity in halal cuisine. While Astoria’s Bangladeshi and Egyptian enclaves typically rely on traditional dishes from their respective cultures for menu offerings, some Muslim restaurateurs like Ali Zaman of Sami’s Kabab House aim to modernize halal dining experiences by providing more creative offerings like traditional Afghan favorites such as grilled tilapia and dibi steak while Zaman hopes to present more diverse and modern halal experiences for customers.

Brown Coffee Club sees the introduction of a halal kitchen as more than simply appeasing students who observe religious dietary restrictions. Lana Kolchinsky (’22), an Interfaith Values Fellow and student intern for Stetson Dining Services, spearheading its implementation has spearheaded its addition. According to Lana Kolchinsky (’22), adding kosher and halal meals “is quite important in preparing us for the future”, by accommodating students of different faith traditions.