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Flow State CoffeeBar Is Just About Ready to Open

The Kensington cafe and gelateria will offer the ability to book seats in advance, too.


Photo courtesy of Flow State Coffee Bar

Kensington’s newest coffee bar and gelateria is just about ready to open.

Flow State CoffeeBar is set to debut at 2413 Frankford Avenue later this week. Owners Melanie and Liz Diamond-Manlusoc and Maggie Lee are shooting for a soft opening this Thursday, June 28th, pending final inspections.

Melanie, an acclaimed pastry chef who’s worked in Michelin-starred restaurants, has cider donuts and cornmeal-based zaletti cookies slated for their soft opening. They’ll also be pouring drip coffee from Lancaster-based Square One and teas from Chicago’s Rare Tea Cellar (they’ll be the only place you can sip those teas in Philly).

Flow State will also offer six flavors of Melanie’s gelato, kicking off with honey cashew, French lavender, pepita, and orange cardamom, which will serve as the base for their signature affogato (“It slowly turns into Turkish coffee as it melts,” Melanie explained). They’ll also have dairy-free sorbetto in mango togarashi and lemon mint.

In addition to affogati, customers will be able to order any drink or pastry a la mode, with a scoop of gelato or sorbetto served on the side or float-style.

Photo by Alex Jones

Soon, Flow State will offer a menu of espresso drinks plus snacks like house-made trail mix and spiced nuts, a signature panini made with fig jam, cashew butter, Havarti, and fontina pressed between slices of Melanie’s Roquefort bread, and salads. Additional breakfast options will include chia seed pudding, oatmeal, and hard-boiled eggs.

“We only want to do anything we can do excellent,” Melanie said. “We’d rather be like In-N-Out, with a couple things that are fucking fantastic, rather than being everything for everybody.”

Perhaps the most unique aspect of cafe is that customers can book a spot at the shop in advance via the Flow State website for three-hour blocks of time, with a beverage included, for around $12 — guaranteeing that there will be a seat for them when work needs to get done. Walk-in customers can also book open work spots at the register.

In addition seats at a communal table and at the quiet back bar, there’s a standing bar for those who prefer to work on their feet. A few four-tops and the front bar are open for walk-ins and non-working customers. The shop’s brightly-colored mural, which extends over nearly 450 square feet along the south wall, was painted by Pittsburgh-based artist Gabe Felice.

Flow State will open with summer hours to start — 8 a.m. until 12 p.m. Monday through Saturday, with evening hours from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. on Fridays for gelato. Regular hours will be Monday through Wednesday from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m., Thursday and Friday from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m., and Saturdays from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m.