From Street Stand to Staple: How The Horn Began

The Horn food truck serving sambusas and chai in Nashville

The Horn Journal

From Street Stand to Staple: How The Horn Began

PublishedAugust 24, 2025Read time3 minWritten byMohamed Sayid

A Journey Across Continents

The Horn's story begins in the 1990s, when our father came to Nashville from Somalia and sold sambusas out of the back of his van to support our family. Our mom and dad would make them at home, folding and frying trays to sell at the masjid on Fridays.

Dad folding sambusas by hand next to a tray of folded sambusas — Dad folding sambusas by hand at home, one tray at a time.

We grew up helping him with the folding, the frying and the serving. In those early years his sambusas also made their way onto the menus of restaurants around Nashville, one order at a time.

Dad and our uncle behind the counter of the old sambusa shop — Dad and our uncle behind the counter.

One of the spots in Nashville where Dad sold his sambusas — One of the spots where Dad sold his sambusas.

We learned the flavors of home and the art of hospitality, one sambusa at a time.

Rooted in Tradition, Reimagined in Nashville

In 2015, we turned those streetside origins into something bigger: a café built on our family's recipes. Sambusas and Somali chai, made the way our mom taught us, became the heart of The Horn, and a place for the community to come together over familiar flavors and warm hospitality.

Hassan with his sons Ahmed and Zak in front of an orange wall — Our dad Hassan with Ahmed and Zak.

The Horn team at a farmers market tent with trays of sambusas and chai — Sambusas and chai at the farmers market.

The outside of The Horn café on Murfreesboro Pike — Our café on Murfreesboro Pike.

More Than a Café

Today, The Horn is a Nashville staple, with cafés on Murfreesboro Pike and on Scarritt Place near Vanderbilt. It is more than a place to grab a bite. Doctors, students, neighbors and families all end up at the same counter. People come for the sambusas and spiced chai, and stay for a welcome that feels like family.

The Horn HQ counter with the chalkboard menu and pastry case — The counter at our Murfreesboro Pike café.

A line of customers outside The Horn Midtown on opening day — Opening day at our Midtown café.

Along the way, our dad even made the cover of Native magazine. Not bad for a man who started with a van and a tray of sambusas.

Dad smiling on the cover of Native magazine, Issue 70, The Horn Coffee — Dad on the cover of Native, Issue 70.

A Flavor Carried from Somalia

At The Horn, we bring East African tradition together with bold new ideas. Every sambusa and every cup of Somali chai is rooted in our heritage and shaped by growing up in Nashville.

If you are in town, pull up a chair. Sambusas and chai taste best the way they were always meant to be served: fresh, warm and shared.

Taste the story

Bring The Horn home

Kenyan black tea, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves. The same chai we pour every day in Nashville, shipped anywhere in the U.S. Or come see us for sambusas and chai, fresh and warm.

Shop the chai Visit a café