Sippers Coffeehouse — Restaurant in Jacksonville

I have passed by this coffee shop so many times in a hurry to make it to the next appointment or work related thing. Leap year day, I stopped in! I brought my work laptop with me to stay for a little while, sip, eat, and work. Logging into the wifi here was very easy, and I picked a spot right by the window to work (nice views and lighting)

I ordered a small London Fog tea which came with loose leaf tea (not a tea bag) steeped into my cute mug - this really makes all the difference. Thank you sippers for going the extra mile and choosing loose leaf tea. I also was able to substitute the whole milk for oat milk which was very nice.

Let me get to this açaí bowl. I’ve eaten in the next plaza over at Juice Tap; had their açaí bowl over there, & liked it. Since this is a coffee shop first, I wasn’t expecting the açaí bowl to be as superb as it really was (at only 8-9 dollars at that too) It was late lunch and I needed something in my tummy. The blend of açaí they make, the heart of what’s in the bowl underneath all of the pretty toppings, was So good! Fresh! I had chunks in it (small fruit chunks) from it being freshly blended. The mixture was So creamy too but not overly creamy. They also drizzle the top with some honey which is my favorite part! I was allowed to substitute the blueberry toppings for extra strawberries instead and that really made my day. The fact that I was able to order an açaí bowl under ten bucks - wow! Super grateful for the very reasonable pricing here. But to then be blown away with the quality of this price friendly açaí bowl too - I was kicking myself for not stopping in here sooner, especially since I lived in a nearby apartment complex for 2 years right down the street. Sippers is now up there in my top 5 coffee shops of Jax to visit to either work, eat, sip, or grab something to go.

Yall the music - I know that’s a random thing to notice but since I was working in here for a couple of hours yesterday, lol, I noticed. First I think it was Christian music; after a couple songs, the main Star Wars theme song came on, followed by Michael buble, and then some smooth jazz or classical music. I was so entertained by the mix up. Star Wars had me cracking up though bc if you have ever listened to the whole thing, that one song goes on and on for an awkwardly long time - I was here for it.

This shop stays steady! Goes to show just how many love it. I’m very happy to see this place thrive in such a good location too! The service here was very hospitable. You could tell I was a newbie and no one seemed to get annoyed with my questions on what to order.

Parking can be kindive tricky since it’s in a small strip with other businesses, but it’s not too bad. I waited maybe all of 30 seconds for a customer to pull out of a spot so I could pull in and use theirs.

I would absolutely come back...

I’ve noticed some negative reviews recently and I wanted to come forward and share my experience here as a former staff member. I only worked here for about 2-3 months before I was “let go” because I wasn’t “learning fast enough”. The first red flag I got was within the first couple weeks. I was scheduled Monday-Friday and she told me Tuesday to stay home for the rest of the week because she was training a new staff member. But she ended up giving all of my hours back anyways when the new employee quit after just one shift. I remember one time I asked the owner several times to show me how to do a certain task (ground chai). I made the chai and asked how to ground it. I asked several times over the next few hours and she never showed me. She left early that day. But she did remember the next day to ask if anybody else decided to show me after she left haha. Not long after that I had talked with my co workers and I realized we deserved better. I didn’t want to leave quite yet because other people were planning on leaving and we were short staffed and I knew how much the owner wanted to go on vacation. I also thrived with my co workers and became close and even hangout with some outside of work. I loved them. I drove an hour to work every single shift and only called out one time because I was grieving the loss of a close family member while the owner was on vacation. Their first shift with me back from their vacation was the day she fired me. The only reason why I was devastated was because she knew I had children at home. She knew I was grieving the loss of a family member who meant a lot to me. She knew I drove an hour to work and showed up every time. And no matter how frustrated she got with me, she saw I was willing to fix it or work hard to make sure I’d make it right. I don’t know why, but I started to become anxious and would second guess myself a lot while on shift with her. But I guess I just wasn’t learning fast enough and that’s okay. She sent me an email the next day apologizing. Saying she had trouble sleeping that night. It made me so mad, I mean how unprofessional can you be?? I’m leaving 3 stars because I hate to see a business go down. I believe people make mistakes and can do better. This is an adorable coffee shop that has a hard working staff that deserves better. Do I recommend working here? Absolutely not. But do I recommend supporting your local coffee shop and giving people a chance to do better?...

I went into the coffee shop and asked if I could use the bathroom. I was told by an older lady(owner) that they just cleaned the bathrooms and were about to close. I said ok and exited the building. As I was closing the door I seen the store hours posted and realized they actually had 30 minutes until closing. I felt like I had just been racially profiled, and I was very bothered by it. More so in shock and total disbelief. I went back in the store and addressed the fact that they had 30 minutes until closing. I did so very calmly and respectfully. The lady was speechless at first. Then she finally responded saying that the restrooms were for paying customers only. I replied that she could have just stated that the first time and I would have gladly purchased something. I explained that I felt like something else was her motive behind refusing me access to her bathroom because she first lied, then mentioned the stores policy. She just stood there with nothing to say as if stuck.

Her husband then joined the conversation and because he had been listening then said it was posted on the door. I explained that I was in a rush and honestly didn't see it, also that she could have stated that instead of lying. She replied that she feels uncomfortable informing the customers of the policy. I said that was an unacceptable excuse and that if it's a policy, and posted, then it shouldn't be an issue at all. I also asked again why she lied about the store hours and why the fact that it was just cleaned was even a factor. She had no answer. I also informed them that if the store closed in 2 minutes and a customer came in and had to use the restroom that if they had been cleaned already or not would be irrelevant, they still should have access to them. I got no response at all and no apology so I simply left.

It's really sad that this happened and that it was in an establishment that I have spent my money in many times before. I guess that's the times we live in now. People are no longer afraid to be...