A Turkish coffeehouse chain plans to open its first U.S. location at Cherry Hill Mall on Dec. 1, filling the space left by the Bistro at Cherry Hill.
Maya Bohem Coffee, which operates three cafes in Turkey, will take over the kiosk the Bistro occupied for 27 years in the mall's main corridor, Blue Fig Garden co-owner Osama "Sam" Jadalla told the Philadelphia Inquirer. Jadalla and his partners in Blue Fig Garden, the Turkish-Eastern Mediterranean restaurant on the mall's perimeter, are behind the new venture.
The Cherry Hill menu will stretch well beyond what Maya Bohem serves in Turkey, where the focus is coffee, pastries and desserts. Jadalla said the mall location will add Neapolitan-style pizza, pasta, burgers, sandwiches and croissants filled to order with pistachio, Biscoff, Nutella and other fillings. Italian gelato rounds out the offerings. Jadalla said the partners bought two specialized gelato machines at $22,000 apiece.
"Forty-four thousand dollars — just for ice cream," he said.
Customers will order at a counter or kiosk, with seating available. Jadalla compared the model to Starbucks but with a fuller food menu and expects takeout to drive much of the business. He described Maya Bohem as a separate concept from Blue Fig Garden, geared toward shoppers who want a coffee or a casual meal.
Jadalla's partners include Fatih Karatas and Muhammet Geyikgolu. The group hopes to franchise the brand.
The new cafe replaces one of the mall's longest-running independent restaurants. The Bistro at Cherry Hill opened in 1998 and was known for its wraparound counter and Italian American menu. It closed July 10, 2025, after a bankruptcy judge converted its Chapter 11 reorganization to a Chapter 7 liquidation. Mall owner Preit had won a nearly $1.6 million judgment in a rent dispute.
Former Bistro owner Andrew Cosenza Jr. also faces criminal charges. A New Jersey grand jury indicted him Oct. 29, 2025, on 17 counts including theft, filing fraudulent tax returns and failure to remit collected taxes, according to the New Jersey Attorney General's Office. State prosecutors allege Cosenza collected $271,621 in sales tax from Bistro customers in 2021 and 2022 but did not turn it over to the state. Cosenza is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Display cases, branded cups and takeout packaging are being shipped from Turkey, Jadalla told the Inquirer. Their arrival, along with installation and health inspections, could affect the Dec. 1 target.
