Greensburg resident Zara Wan, owner of a new cafe that opened in May along New Alexandria Road, is determined not to let her chronic health conditions define her.
Wan moved to Greensburg two years ago to study at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine — LECOM — on Seton Hill’s campus. She dreamed of becoming an osteopathic doctor working with families.
But after the first semester, Wan, 25, was sidelined by a handful of chronic health issues, which worsened under the stressful academic schedule, she said.
For two months, she was too sick to participate in daily life tasks — such as eating solid foods, walking, showering and driving a car for more than a few minutes at a time.
Wan was diagnosed with endometriosis, reactive hypoglycemia, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, fibromyalgia and POTS — postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome.
“It’s just my test in this life,” Wan said. “It’s just what I have to deal with.”
While continuing to pursue a doctorate degree outside of LECOM, Wan is taking a stab at entrepreneurship. She opened Cafe Zara, a mobile Middle Eastern coffee and baked goods shop, in Greensburg on May 16 with the goal of expanding to a brick-and-mortar storefront next year.
Wan — whose parents immigrated from South Asia to Washington, D.C. — hopes the cafe exposes Westmoreland County residents to Middle Eastern flavors.
“I come from such a diverse background. I spoke Arabic before I spoke English, and my parents migrated here over 30 years ago to escape from the war,” she said. “Having that under my belt, I moved to (Greensburg), and I’m like ‘Oh my God, there’s so many cultural gaps here. I’m sure people would appreciate Middle Eastern coffee and Middle Eastern food.’ I realized the potential.”
The cafe’s cardamom rose, pistachio, Dubai chocolate, Spanish and salted caramel date lattes have been customer favorites so far, Wan said. She is also selling mini pancakes with toppings such as pistachio, Lotus Biscoff cookie crumbs, Nutella and strawberries.
The cafe is based out of a camper formerly owned by Wan’s parents, which her father spent about two months renovating before the business’s grand opening. It is parked at 611 New Alexandria Road in Greensburg — next to Dairy Queen.
It is open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Wan aims to open the cafe on select weekdays in the coming weeks, she said.
