Pastries, gelato, coworking? Kensington coffee shop opening next week has it all

From restaurants to gyms to shopping malls, coworking is being embedded into more and more shops in the Philly area, driven by an increasingly mobile workforce.

Now Kensington coffee shop Flow State CoffeeBar is getting in on the action. Set to open Aug. 18 on Frankford Avenue, the cafe will sell day passes that include unlimited coffee, WiFi, breakfast or a home-made pastry, lunch and gelato for $30. Three hour passes are also available from $3 to $19, in combo with drinks, pastries or lunch.

Business partners Melanie Diamond-Manlusoc, Liz Diamond-Manlusoc and Maggie Lee launched the shop in a bid to attract independent and mobile workers in need of a “dynamic and delicious work environment.”

The space is roughly 1,200 square feet and accommodates up to 30, with 13 seats that guests can reserve on Flow State’s website.

The shop is roughly 1,200 square feet. (Courtesy photo)

Melanie Diamond-Manlusoc is a pastry chef trained at Chicago restaurants like Blackbird, Japonais by Morimoto and Spiaggia. Liz and Maggie worked together in online education, and are no strangers to telecommuting from home, coffee shops and coworking spots. They’re hoping to improve the experience for Philly’s mobile workers.

“We wanted to create a coffee shop environment — with great coffee and food — that focuses on the telecommuter, where most coffee shops do not,” the business partners said via email.

To help with the costs of starting a shop from scratch, the company got a boost from a $10,000 crowdsourced Kiva loan.

Think of the first coworking offering at Flow State CoffeeBar as a test run. In a year or so, the team has plans to launch a monthly membership option along with opening a coworking-specific section of the space on another floor of the building, which is expected to feature conference rooms and phone booths.

The shop is located at 2413 Frankford Ave., and is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.