{"id":321151,"date":"2026-06-26T21:37:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T21:37:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/321151\/"},"modified":"2026-06-26T21:37:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T21:37:21","slug":"jacksonvilles-newest-hot-spot-tulip-cafe-brings-big-city-coffee-and-global-flavor-to-the-square","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/321151\/","title":{"rendered":"Jacksonville\u2019s newest hot spot: Tulip Cafe brings big-city coffee and global flavor to the Square"},"content":{"rendered":"

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. (WBRC<\/a>) – The Square in Jacksonville has a new kind of energy\u2014and it smells like fresh-baked pastry and espresso.<\/p>\n

Welcome to Tulip Cafe, a bright, open hangout that feels like a big-city coffee shop landed right in the heart of town. It\u2019s the kind of place where you look up and see students posted up with laptops, friends catching up over lattes, and small groups tucked into conversations that look suspiciously like \u201cwe\u2019re getting things done\u201d meetings.<\/p>\n

\"TulipTulip Cafe(WBRC)<\/p>\n

At the center of it all is owner Moe Housheya, a Palestinian entrepreneur who brings a global point of view\u2014and a very personal mission\u2014to Jacksonville.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m originally from Palestine,\u201d Moe said. \u201cI moved to Miami in 2005.\u201d After years there, he relocated to Alabama in 2024 for business, but something was missing. Not money, not opportunity\u2014a place to just be.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I try to go outside\u2014me and my wife and my kids\u2014there\u2019s nothing here,\u201d Moe explained. \u201cEither way, I don\u2019t want to go to a gas station. I don\u2019t want to go to a steakhouse to sit with my wife for a cup of coffee.\u201d<\/p>\n

So he built what he couldn\u2019t find: a caf\u00e9 designed for real life.<\/p>\n

\"TulipTulip Cafe in Jacksonville(WBRC)A caf\u00e9 with passport-level flavor<\/p>\n

Tulip Cafe isn\u2019t trying to be like everyone else\u2014and the menu makes that obvious right away.<\/p>\n

The pastries? They\u2019re not locked into one lane. Moe describes them as a mix of Middle Eastern and Italian, pulling inspiration from across the region and into Europe.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s mixed between Middle Eastern\u2014which is all the Middle East is the same pastry\u2014and some Italian,\u201d he said. \u201cI put my own experience with it from the Middle East. So I mix it up between Middle East and Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Translation: you\u2019re getting something familiar, but with a twist\u2014and a little bit of \u201cwhere has this been all my life?\u201d<\/p>\n

The bread is the flex<\/p>\n

Yes, Tulip Cafe serves coffees, pastries, and sandwiches. But Moe isn\u2019t doing basic.<\/p>\n

The sandwich lineup is simple on purpose\u2014then upgraded where it counts: the bread.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s in our own bread,\u201d Moe said. \u201cThe ciabatta bread\u2014this is like sourdough. We make it every day fresh here. This is our signature.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fresh-baked daily. Signature style. That\u2019s not a side detail\u2014that\u2019s the whole vibe.<\/p>\n

And if you want something fresh and green, there\u2019s the caprese: pesto, arugula, and ingredients that hit the \u201cclean and organic\u201d note without losing flavor.<\/p>\n

Built for a college town that needed a third place<\/p>\n

Tulip Cafe isn\u2019t just a coffee stop\u2014it\u2019s a community space that Jacksonville didn\u2019t have before.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is what this area needs,\u201d Moe said. \u201cWe are in the college town. We got the GSU. It\u2019s a mile away. There\u2019s no place to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now there is.<\/p>\n

Students come to study. People meet up for work sessions. Groups gather. Moe says there are even church meetings and events\u2014proof that when you build a welcoming space, the community shows up and makes it theirs.<\/p>\n

Come to the Square<\/p>\n

Tulip Cafe is located on the Square in Jacksonville, and it\u2019s already becoming the kind of spot you recommend to out-of-towners, like it\u2019s a secret you don\u2019t want to share too loudly.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re looking for a new experience\u2014something different, something warm, something that feels like Jacksonville leveling up\u2014Tulip Cafe <\/a>is it.<\/p>\n

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Copyright 2026 WBRC. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n