Tulip Cafe has quickly settled in as the Square’s newest hangout, serving big-city coffee, global-inspired pastries and in-house-baked ciabatta in downtown Jacksonville, Ala. Owner Moe Housheya shaped the bright, airy space to be that everyday “third place” where students, families and neighbors can study, meet and linger. The bakery-coffee hybrid doubles as an early anchor in downtown’s redevelopment effort and is already pulling in both Jacksonville State University students and local regulars.
Speaking with WBRC, Housheya said, “I’m originally from Palestine,” and described his move to Miami in 2005 before relocating to Alabama in 2024 to pursue business. He told the station he opened Tulip Cafe because the town lacked a welcoming, everyday spot for people to gather. State business filings list Muayad Housheya as the cafe’s registered agent, according to Alabama corporate records.
Passport-level pastries and house bread
The menu at Tulip keeps things tight and intentional: coffee drinks, pastries and a short list of sandwiches. The flavors, though, travel much farther, blending Middle Eastern sweets with Italian-style technique. According to Restaurantji, the cafe bakes ciabatta-style loaves in-house every morning, and the pastry case leans into delicate fruit tarts and European-style viennoiserie. The District, the downtown redevelopment project, lists Tulip Cafe as the bakery-coffee anchor of its first completed building on the Square, a signal that the block is beginning to fill out with daily destinations instead of just offices and errands.
A third place for students and neighbors
Housheya says he planned the cafe with a college town in mind, one that needed a place where people could linger instead of grabbing coffee and rushing off. WBRC noted students posted up with laptops and small groups meeting over drinks, the early signs of a “third place” doing exactly what it is supposed to do. The shop is already playing host to church gatherings, study sessions and work meetings, and regulars praise the bright interior along with the focus on bread and pastry, which the owner calls the cafe’s signature.
Where to find it
Tulip Cafe sits at 104 Ladiga St SW, Unit A on the Square and typically opens early most weekdays, with local listings showing morning hours for coffee and pastries. State filings confirm that address as the cafe’s registered office, according to Alabama corporate records, and local business pages provide current hours and a phone number for walk-ins. If you are in town for a JSU visit or a weekend market on the Square, it has already become one of the first spots people suggest.
Tulip’s arrival is a small but clear sign that the Square’s redevelopment is edging from planning documents into daily life, turning into a place where people not only pass through but actually stay a while. As The District moves into later phases, expect more storefronts to join Tulip in giving folks a reason to stick around downtown instead of heading straight home.
