A Turkish café chain with three locations in Turkey has signed a lease at Cherry Hill Mall, filling the space left empty since the Bistro at Cherry Hill closed in July 2025.
Maya Bohem, which operates cafés in Gaziantep, Tekirdağ and Adıyaman, will take over the open, square dining area in the mall's main walkway. Construction walls went up around the space in the days before Oct. 10 and were quickly covered with colorful graphics showcasing the brand's menu, 42Freeway first reported Saturday, Oct. 10.
Cherry Hill appears to be Maya Bohem's first U.S. location, based on the brand's website, which lists only its three Turkey cafés. The company promotes a franchise program on its site, and 42Freeway noted that may explain how the brand reached South Jersey.
What's on the menu
The construction-wall graphics advertise personal pizzas, chicken sandwiches, salads, noodle dishes, coffee, desserts and gelato. That lineup goes well beyond the brand's Turkish menu, which focuses on desserts, hot drinks and cold drinks, according to the Maya Bohem website. A full local menu has not been released.
Filling a familiar vacancy
The space had sat empty since the Bistro at Cherry Hill was liquidated by a bankruptcy judge's order in July 2025. The Italian restaurant had operated in the mall's main wing since 1998 and owed more than $360,000 in rent and leasing fees after two bankruptcy filings, NJ.com reported. Former owner Andrew Cosenza Jr. was indicted in November 2025 on 17 counts of tax fraud, accused of failing to remit $271,621 in sales tax to the state for 2021 and 2022, according to Patch.
65th anniversary timing
The new signage appeared just in time for the mall's 65th anniversary celebration Oct. 10. Cherry Hill Mall, a 1.3-million-square-foot property owned by PREIT at 2000 Route 38, opened in October 1961 and bills itself as the first enclosed, climate-controlled shopping mall east of the Mississippi River, according to NJ.com.
Lisa Wolstromer, the mall's senior marketing director, said in a press release ahead of the celebration: "This party is our chance to thank the families who have made Cherry Hill Mall their mall and to show them what comes next."
No opening date for Maya Bohem has been announced. The location is listed as "Coming Soon."
