There's a new coffee shop in Richardson, and it is quaint, bright, and lovely. Called La Souq, it is located at 150 W. Main St. in Richardson, as one of the retailers in the new Belt & Main apartment complex.

La Souq is owned by Hira Siddiqui and husband Mateen Husain. The couple has roots in Pakistan but met in Dubai, then moved to Dallas in 2021, where they are raising their family. The shop is inspired by their time in the Middle East, with a modern, inviting space, and minimalistic resort vibes.

“We chose Richardson because of its diversity. We knew that we are not going to get one type of crowd," Hira says.

They roast their own coffee, with a small-batch electronic roaster that is displayed in the main area. Their source their coffee mostly from Mexico, Brazil and Guatemala for now, but they plan to expand to offer more single-origin options.

Their coffee menu carries all the traditional drinks, with a few specialty options such as:

• Za’atar W’Zeit Latte: with thyme and olive oil
• Habibti Latte: with rose and cardamom
• Fig and Cinnamon Latte
• Halwa Latte: with maple syrup, tahini, pistachio and Arabic cotton candy

They serve specialty tea sourced locally from Chaiwali and made-in-house refreshers such as apricot Amar-El-Dine, Zaher Lemonade with orange blossom and Lemon-Basil iced tea.

La Souq coffee has a beautiful interior.La Souq

The food menu was designed by Lebanese Chef Ali Zbeeb and it includes a variety of gourmet toasts, from savory like the Alaskan Aurora (brie cheese, smoked salmon, tomato, baby cornichons, capers, dill and fig reduction) to sweet like the Baraka Bites (almond butter, banana, dates, baraka seeds, pistachios and honey).

They offer desserts, including Turkish Cakes, Tiramisu or Labne and Fig Cheesecake, and popular Turkish pudding Aish El Saraya. They source pastries from local La Casita Bakeshop and Bresnan Bread and Pastry in McKinney.

La Souq also features a market (souq/souk in Arabic, which gives the same to the shop), with an assortment of rotating products, from antique vases displayed on a main wall as part of the design of the shop, to Palestinian olive oil and Yemeni honey, which is used in their recipes. “We try to make it meaningful by supporting women-owned businesses”, Hira says. They additionally support women entrepreneurship with regular events where women can sell their products, or host painting or cake-decorating workshops, among other crafts.

The shop keeps long, customer-friendly hours: Monday-Friday from 8:30 am to 10 pm, and even later until 11:30 pm on Friday and Saturday.

“We had a very clear vision of what we wanted, and it is coming to life very nicely. We love seeing people taking video of the space and spending time here," Hira says.