Birdie Coffee Downtown is taking a swing at operating a coffee kiosk in the lobby of 1 Independent Square, according to a Feb. 11 news release.
As the name implies, it is a golf-themed company. Its website says it was founded “by golfers, for golfers.”
The Birdie Coffee Co. was co-founded by Daniel Hanania, a former collegiate golfer, and Christie Blackburn, who operated the Ground Level Coffee shop at 50 N. Laura St. in the Bank of America Tower. Her father-in-law is former PGA Tour professional Woody Blackburn.
Christie Blackburn closed Ground Level after Starbucks Coffee Co. began pursuing plans to build a coffee shop adjacent to the space.
Hanania’s family has owned Joseph’s Pizza in Atlantic Beach since 1956. He also works as a food and beverage consultant.
Another family connection is his cousin, Jonathan Bateh, owner of Akel’s Deli & Grille. It moved from the Bank of America Tower to 1 Independent in October 2025. Blackburn is Bateh’s sister.
“He called us and said there’s a coffee spot here that you guys should look at. We looked at it and it was like, this is a no-brainer,” Hanania said.
The lobby location offers enough seating for customers to have a small meeting or just take a break during the workday.
The company started three years ago working with local roasters and sold beans and ground coffee via the internet. It has customers in all 50 states, Hanania said.
Its various roasts have such golf-themed names as The First Cut, Bunker Blend, Fairway Fuel, The Deep Rough and The Mulligan. The coffee is sold as whole beans, ground or in individual pods. Prices range from $13 to $18.50.
Birdie Coffee Downtown serves a variety of coffee drinks as well as juice, soda and soon will serve locally made pastries. Coffee prices start at $2.75 and top out at $8. The company makes most of its flavored syrups. A new one is featured each month.
“The goal at Birdie Coffee from the beginning was to keep as much as we could in Florida and as much as we could locally. Everything served coffee-wise in our Downtown location is all roasted in Jacksonville,” Hanania said.
It is open 7 a.m-3 p.m. Monday through Friday and is closed on weekends.