Mocha Monkey Cafe

A comfy spot in Bell Arbor Commons

by Sally Mitani

The name of the Mocha Monkey Cafe is a reference to owner Jamal Abusway's past. The Mocha Monkey was a favorite coffee drink at the Shaky Ground, a now-defunct coffee shop near San Francisco's Chinatown where he worked ten years ago. He features a drink at Mocha Monkey called the Shaky Ground (iced coffee with vanilla syrup), as well as a Mocha Monkey (espresso with chocolate and banana). The drink called the Sway is another cryptic reference to a coffee shop ghost--his first coffee shop, the Sway on Washtenaw and Golfside.