It isn’t every day that the ribbon-cutting for a new business includes a camel as a guest. Owners of the new Coffee and Chai cafe in West Jordan wanted their grand opening to be memorable, and Merlin the camel helped welcome guests on Feb. 14.

For Adnan and Natalie Afridi, their new cafe is a dream come true, something they’ve thought about many times in the past, particularly over the last two years.

“We’ve spent a lot of time traveling,” Natalie Afridi said. “My husband is from Pakistan, and just being there–the simplicity of tea time and bonding over a simple cup of chai. He remembers that so well.”

“This was something we jokingly talked about forever ago,” Adnan Afridi said. “The last year is where it really came to fruition. My mom just passed away in May from cancer, so we did this in part in remembrance of her. Chai was what I drank growing up my whole life. So I thought, ‘how can I still keep a piece of my mom alive?’ She’s always in our heart, but we wanted to share what she had with everyone else.”

The Afridis wished to build a community gathering place, where friends could sit and visit, or business owners could hold a meeting or work on their laptops. Natalie Afridi said that their sons play competition basketball and they traveled with them to several different cities and states.

“We’d sometimes find coffee places that were heavily influenced by Arab culture, that were unique and open late and had a great feel to them,” she said. “Utah didn’t have a single thing like that, so we wondered how we could incorporate that into our world here in Utah. We came up with a true vision of how we wanted it to look and how we could bring people together, and now we have one.”

Coffee and Chai, located at 1286 W. 9000 South in West Jordan, offers a wide variety of drink and food options, including cheesecakes, fruits, waffles, savory breakfast sandwiches, macarons and croissants. Gluten free items will be added soon. They call it a fusion of being raised in America with deep Pakistani roots. And as Adnan Afridi said, the cafe centers around chai.

“Every time I sit down and take that first sip, it takes me back to my mom,” he said. “Our recipe has been passed down through our family and we’re carrying on her recipe, honoring her legacy and sharing a piece of our family with the community, one cup at a time.”

“All of our drinks and foods are super fresh,” Natalie Afridi said. “We serve black tea and milk–no powder, with a mixture of spices.”

Merlin the camel came to Coffee and Chai from his home at Ivie Acres Farm in Grantsville, an amazing petting zoo. He delighted crowds with his appearance, posing for lots of photos and allowing many children to gently pet him. Guests who joined with board members of Chamber West Chamber of Commerce for the opening were impressed with the bright decor and spaciousness of the cafe. It added a nice ambiance to the opening.

Coffee and Chai is open every day from 7 a.m. to midnight. You can learn more on their website at coffeeandchaico.com.