Three Layers Coffee House in Springfield (Jacksonville, Orlando: real estate, coupons, 2009)

[mawipafl]

Stopped into Three Layers last night after the downtown Art Walk for a light supper, and I now have a new favorite place.

The name "Three Layers" has a double meaning - of course it does refer to cakes and desserts (omg the Jeff Squares are my absolute to-die-fors), but the "Three" also refers to the coffee house part, the new wine bar, and the Zen Garden.

The ambiance is like nowhere else: exposed brick walls, leather sofas, cement bar (created by a local artisan), candles, seating inside or outside (on the sidewalk or in the Garden), an art exhibit on the walls.

Two of us had the Vineyard Chicken Salad ("vineyard", I presume, because there were grapes in the salad - delicious!) and the other had Hummis (also very, very good). The dessert case beckoned afterwards and I had a hard time deciding, so I chose the owner's creation, Jeff Squares. Yup, I can see myself making a trek to Springfield just for one of those.

The staff was incredibly friendly and helpful. Being new to the place, I didn't feel like a fish out of water at all.

Three Layers is easy to find - on the corner of 6th and Walnut - and there's plenty of on-street parking.

Here's the website:
Three Layers - Home

[fsu813]

Soon to be named "the best coffee house in jacksonville" per Folio Weekly, shhhh......don't tell anyone.....

btw, Uptown Market just opened at 3rd & Main a couple weeks ago, from the creator of the Burrito Gallery (downtown) and formally of Crush (Avondale). breakfast & lunch place, with a deli & some groceries soon to come. it's a Biscottis, bb's, Cafe Carmon kinda menu for lunch, traditional for breakfast.

[fsu813]

also, i live about 2 blocks away from it.......so my wife & i and friends take regular strolls down there for lunch on the weekends, or to the wine & beer bar in the evenings.

[JagFan27]

Tell me more about the Jeff Squares.....at $28, I am curious as to what $28 buys.

I really want to visit Bold City Brewery.

[mawipafl]

Originally Posted by JagFan27

Tell me more about the Jeff Squares.....at $28, I am curious as to what $28 buys.

I'm not sure how to describe them (and yes, I was curious at first as to what I was going to get for $2.99/square). They're very rich, so one square was absolutely enough for one sitting. The base is a thick crust made of ?? akin to a graham cracker crust, but much tastier. The top is slightly gooey (but not so gooey that it's a mess to eat - it's not, it does hold its form) and it is full, I would guess, of butter, sugar, eggs, and I don't know what else. During baking, the sugar content forms a delicate crispy crust on the top.

I really want to visit Bold City Brewery.

Um, maybe the over 21s of the PPP can branch out for a trip to the brewery. They're open Thursdays and Fridays from 3pm to ?, and Saturdays from 1 pm to ?, with tours on Saturdays on the hour between 2pm and 5pm.

[HIF]

Sounds like a great place for a grown up CD get together.

Maw- for someone fairly new to the area, you know about more places than anyone I know!

Jag- I'm up for River City Brewery, too.

Actually any place that serves adult beverages and does not have a children's menu is good for me I do children on my own 24/7 and, while I love the buggers, sometimes it's just good to be around grownups in the evening.

[HIF]

There are coupons for Three Layers on halfoffdepot.com

Half Off Depot :: Why live life at full price?

[Karla with a K]

Jagfan
The "Jeff squares" remind me very much of the "ooey gooey butter cakes" I use to get up north
Mawipaw & her hubby brought me a square and as she said they are very rich 2 people could probably share one, but being the sweet fanatic that I am I managed to eat it myself

[fsu813]

New from Jacksonville Advanatge Magazine:




People can’t stop talking about Three Layers, A Coffee House. The Springfield business was named the Best Coffee House of Jacksonville by Folio Weekly, gained coverage in Southern Living, and garnered a visit from Gov. Charlie Crist. Like many other entrepreneurs, partners Jeff Wright and Shawn McGuire have an interesting story.

The couple moved to Florida from Atlanta in 2007. McGuire was successful in the construction and real estate industries. Wright worked in health care, and made special-order cakes from his home kitchen for more than a decade.

For as long as Wright has been making cakes, people have told him that his cakes were the best they’ve ever had. Guests have called the hosts of parties where Wright’s cakes were served because they wanted to compliment Wright on his cakes. They even sent flowers. Friends and family urged Wright to start a business.

McGuire suggested that Wright name the would-be business. Months later, Wright announced that he would call it Three Layers, A Coffee House. The name represented the three layers he used in every cake he baked and his belief that true inner peace embodies the mind, body and spirit—three layers. Months after deciding on a name, the opportunity to launch Three Layers presented itself, but it was completely unexpected.

Some highlights:

Some locals tried to persuade them not to move to Springfield.

“People told us, ‘Oh, you don’t want to be there,’” Wright says. “The neighborhood was rundown and crime-infested about 10 years ago. But it’s nothing like that now.”

&

Wright says it is still a challenge to get some native Jacksonvillians to visit Three Layers, A Coffee House, because of Springfield’s stigma from years ago.

“We actually had some part-time applicants call and cancel their interviews once they looked up the location of the coffee house, or when their family or friends heard that the business was in Springfield,” Wright says.

Positive press coverage and word-of-mouth have helped the owners combat the old reputation of Springfield.

&

Wright and McGuire moved to Orlando after McGuire was recruited by a real estate firm in Central Florida. But they discovered the city wasn’t the right fit for them.

“We started to consider other areas of Florida, and we had a few requirements for our new home,” Wright says. “It had to be a place where Shawn could sell real estate, specifically historic homes. We’re urban dwellers, so it had to have an urban core. And it had to be near the water.”

After reviewing city information on the Internet, Wright and McGuire kept reading about the historic Springfield neighborhood of Jacksonville. After a visit to the active community, they were hooked.

The full (long) article is linked here: http://advantagebizmag.com/archives/...-1#comment-580