Why the Science Center is opening a coffee shop

The University City Science Center is opening a coffee shop that will double as a print shop. It’s another move to make the Science Center and its University City Market Street corridor a startup and technology hub, a place where entrepreneurs, researchers and investors can bump into each other.

The Creative Cafe @ Replica, located on the ground floor of the University City Science Center‘s 3711 Market Street space, will open its doors on Dec. 2.

The shop is an outgrowth of Keith Leaphart‘s Center City design and print firm Replica Creative. Leaphart also plans to hold events in the space.

The Science Center launched Quorum, its event and coworking space, to make its 3711 Market Street location more of a hub, but since it’s tucked away on the eighth floor of the building, it’s not always prime for serendipitous run-ins. With its central and accessible location, an urban-friendly, glassy storefront at that, The Creative Cafe could be a place for exactly that, like Old City coffee shops are for the developers and entrepreneurs of N3rd Street.