Newly opened, a nonprofit Jacksonville coffeehouse with the motto “Seek. Serve. Sip…” is on a mission to serve the community more than just a freshly roasted cup of joe and homemade pastries.
Cup of Job held its grand opening Sunday at 934 Edgewood Ave. S. next door to Murray Hill Theatre in the heart of the neighborhood’s business district.
The small cozy coffeehouse occupies the storefront formerly housing the Vagabond Coffee Co. cafe, which closed on Dec. 23 after nine years. Cup of Job is across the street from the Vagabond roastery, one of its coffee suppliers.
The Murray Hill location is the second brick-and-mortar coffee shop for Cup of Job. The first opened five years ago in Jacksonville Beach. Cup of Job also has a “Job on the Go” mobile coffee truck.
Cup of Job is part of Lifework Leadership First Coast ― a nondenominational faith-based leadership development program headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach
“Seek. Serve. Sip.” is the coffeehouse motto and guiding philosophy.
“It’s to seek Jesus, serve others one sip at a time. And that is the heart of the coffee shop,” Tammie McClafferty, CEO of Lifework Leadership First Coast, told the Times-Union. “I don’t want to be a drive-thru. I want you to come in and I want you to feel the love both from the coffee and the people.”
Lifework is nondenominational and partners with more than 150 churches and at least 60 nonprofits, said McClafferty, noting its motto is “transforming leaders to transform the city.”
“We take business leaders and professionals and put them through an eight-month training on how to take their faith into the workplace,” she said. “So, it’s from legally what are you allowed to do to tactfully what is appropriate. … We are now the largest faith-based networking system in the city,” said McClafferty, adding that Lifework helped launch the Northeast Florida Christian Chamber of Commerce.
She said once participants finish the Lifework course, they must choose something to do in the city that will give back to the city.
Lifework then took it a step further by establishing the inaugural Cup of Job coffee shop five years ago at 119 First Ave. N. Jacksonville Beach.
Cup of Job menu highlights
All made to order, Cup of Job offers freshly roasted coffee and espresso along with frappes, cold brews, teas and smoothies.
The shop’s main coffee blend is Beach Blend from Condaxis Coffee and Tea of Jacksonville, which previously gave Cup of Job its first coffee machine.
In honor of Vagabond Coffee and is many contributions to the Murray Hill community, the coffee shop also features one of Vagabond’s blends, she said.
“Our small is called ‘blessed,’ our medium is called ‘stressed,’ and our large is called ‘pray for me’,” she said of the coffee sizes, ranging from 12 to 20 ounces.
Lattes, cappuccinos and macchiatos cost $4.50, $5 or $5.50. Cold brews are $4 to $5.50; Cuban coffee is $3.50 for a 3-ounce cup while espresso is $3 for a 3-ounce cup, according to the menu board. Frappes and smoothies range from $5 for a 12-ounce to $5.50 for a 16-ounce and $6 for a 20-ounce. Hot chocolate is $3 to $4 depending on the size selected.
The Murray Hill shop also has its own specialty drink ― the Murricane, which is non-alcoholic.
“We have a blended and shaken Murricane, which is like a smoothie. It is lime, passion fruit and orange. It’s very tropical and very yummy,” she said.
Cup of Job also serves, muffins, cinnamon rolls, pastries, frittatas, avocado toast, bagels and bagel sandwiches as well as offers a “build your own sandwich” option. Customer favorites include:
- Frittata ($4)
- Avocado toast ($6)
- Avocado toast with egg ($6.50)
- Bagel with cream cheese ($3.50)
- Bacon, egg and cheese bagel ($5.50)
- Build your own sandwich ($6) with a choice of breads, meats, cheese and veggies
They make their pastries in-house, but Village Bread does the bagels and other breads, she said.
McClafferty said Cup of Job will be open and will serve as the concession stand for Murray Hill Theatre when it hosts a concert or other special events each month.
Coffeehouse reflects Bible scripture
The coffeehouse name and philosophy reflect the Bible passage Job 22:21: “Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you.”
Each of the three Cup of Job businesses has partnered with other local nonprofits to provide job skills and placement programs helping either the homeless, victims of sex trafficking and other sexual abuse, or refugees relocated to the city.
The Murray Hill coffeehouse is partnering with Rethreaded, Hadassah’s Hope and Girls of Virtue to help women who’ve endured sexual trafficking or other sexual abuse.
“Our goal is to be able to hire those women to work here,” McClafferty said.
In Jacksonville Beach, the coffee shop works with the homeless in partnership with Beaches Rescue Recovery Mission. The Cup of Job coffee truck works with Beyond90, which serves refugees and immigrants, McClafferty said.
“What we discovered was the No. 1 problem for refugees is transportation. They don’t have a driver’s license so they can’t get to work. Well, on the mobile truck, we can hire them, go pick them up, they work an event and then we take them home,” she said.
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Cup of Job in Murray Hill has about 35 seats inside plus several outdoor tables in its backyard courtyard.
The coffeehouse is open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and on Sunday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and closed Monday.
Teresa Stepzinski is the dining reporter for the Times-Union. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @TeresaStepz or reach her via email at tstepzinski@jacksonville.com.
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