![]() “It’s so hard for me to choose!” Lee says the mango togarashi sorbetto (one of the many dairy-free options that will complement the gelato) is her favorite. “Lavender … and the spicy ‘better than chocolate’ … and corn!” she says. When asked what her favorite of Melanie’s gelato flavors are, Liz stalls. “I’d rather have a small menu with everything being delicious and the coffee on point.” “There’s too much ‘pretty good’ everywhere,” she says. Melanie, who, working as a restaurant chef, was tired of being told what to do, says she’ll follow her whims with the primary focus on quality. The menu will feature Square One Coffee, housemade pastries (including Filipino desserts, which speak to Melanie’s cultural background), six rotating flavors of gelato and light lunch fare, like salads and paninis. Now, plans are rapidly in motion, and the Flow State CoffeeBar is slated to open later this fall. The interior of Flow State CoffeeBar pre-buildout Last year, under the name Flow State CoffeeBar, they hosted a few different fundraisers to raise startup capital and to show off the pastries and gelato that Flow State customers will one day be able to enjoy. ![]() Plus, as Lee says, “Kensington seems to have the right temperament at the right time” to welcome their concept. They’d originally considered opening in another neighborhood, but they all live in the area, and owning a shop close to home felt important to them. ![]() They settled on a storefront on Frankford Avenue, right where Fishtown turns into Kensington. The Diamond-Manlusocs made more trips from Chicago to Philly to continue fleshing their vision out, finally making the permanent move in 2016. Over the next two years, the three gathered once a week via Facetime or Google Hangouts to iron out details. That first conversation turned into a series of meetings. Time to make the #doughnuts #donut #fried #cake #spiced #flowstatecoffeebar #phillyĪ post shared by Flow State CoffeeBar on at 11:07am PDT “Melanie knows pastries and gelato, and Liz and I, who both currently telecommute, know coworking. “We wanted to stay with what we know,” Lee says. ![]() They decided that they’d combine a coffeeshop concept with a coworking space, to create the kind of place that felt welcome to telecommuters, students and neighbors alike a place where there was no pressure to keep buying things to justify hanging out all day a place that offered various seating configurations, plentiful outlets and lots of food options to keep folks nourished and comfortable for hours at a time. Melanie-a classically trained pastry chef who’d spent many years working in big, hierarchical restaurant kitchens-blurted out, “Let’s open a place!” and, excited by the prospect, the trio spent the next few hours hashing out and sketching a plan of what they wanted their theoretical cafe to look like. Sitting in La Colombe, they began talking about all the things they did and didn’t like about the various cafes they’d been to. The couple was wrapping up a visit to see Lee, who’d moved back to her hometown of Philadelphia in 2011 after living in Chicago for eight years, where the three had initially met. Three friends, Melanie and Liz Diamond-Manlusoc and Maggie Lee, were enjoying a mellow morning before the Diamond-Manlusocs traveled back to Chicago. The idea for Flow State CoffeeBar was born in January 2015 in another coffee shop: La Colombe’s flagship location on Frankford Avenue in Fishtown. From L to R: Liz and Melanie Diamond-Manlusoc, Maggie Lee
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