Dilworth coffee shop owner serves ‘better’ vibes in honor of his mother

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – Every morning in the Dilworth neighborhood, it seems like everybody and their dog needs a pick-me-up.

“Oliver!” Tariqu Khalil says, greeting a Great Pyrenees at the counter of his coffee shop, Backyard Brew.

Then the man known as “TK” for short focuses his attention on the owner of the dog, who’s a regular.

“We’re thinking about 16 shots of espresso, right?” he joked.

“Yeah, about you know the usual,” said the customer.

TK disarms people with a wealth of vast pop culture references.

Like Brittany, for example.

“One T, two Ts?”

“Two,” a woman said.

“Better than Spears,” he says.

Next, he serves a little boy named Elijah.

“Elijah? Better than Wood? Yes sir!” says TK.

He hands out little “lucky ducks” to make people smile.

“OG classic yellow and see-through, this might glow in the dark, actually,” he said.

Guess his mom taught him well. That’s why Khalil does his part to spread smiles and humanity.

“Something she said was, ‘Always kill them with kindness.’ No matter what,” he remembers.

“So, what I’m going to give to somebody, I’m going to get back from them too,” TK tells Queen City News. “Because some people may be having a bad day, maybe I’m having a bad day, we don’t know though, right?”

“That’s who he is,” his dad, Abraham Khalil, summed up.

For the past year, the familiar faces at his window mean more than customers realize.

Last November, TK’s mother, Charmaine, died of lung cancer. Abraham says TK’s way with people reminds him so much of his wife.

“Yes, a lot, it makes me emotional,” said Abraham, choking up.

“Her motto was being good,” he says of Charmaine. “Being positive, being good, being kind.”

Being human.                                                                                                                                     

“I try to make sure, because of what she’s done for us, the only thing I can do and should do is pass that message forward as well,” said TK.

Inside, the writing the walls says it all. They’ve scrawled messages like “Thanks for always making my day brighter“ and “I want to move in here.”

“Great coffee, better people,” is another sentiment.

“Everyone here is family,” TK said.

Maybe his humor and humanity are the perfect blend for this business.

The family’s original location, run by his brother, is in Palo Alto, California.

Backyard Brew’s first North Carolina spot was in Pineville in 2023, before moving to East Blvd. in Dilworth.

“When was the due date?” TK asks a woman.

“I’m getting induced tonight,” she replies.

“Get out of here, really? That’s amazing!” he says.

“Coffee, usually it brings people together,” said Abraham.

Whether you order coffee or a breakfast burrito, we’re all in this together.

“We’re all going through it as human beings,” says TK. “We’re all going through it, negatively, something in our lives that is not good, some worse than others. So our only goal is to add value to help others. Because if we help others, in turn, we’ll help ourselves indirectly if that makes sense.”

That’s why he keeps the pop culture references flowing.

“I’ve got Lisa, better than Kudrow, Chai,” he called out.

“Carson! Better than Daly, baby,” TK said, beckoning another customer. “Cheers, dude.”