Under the warm yellow light, the employees of Flow-ee Coffee Shop work attentively. With skillful hands, wine bingsu, the signature drink of the shop, is ready to serve customers.

The café looks normal, like many others. But the atmosphere is special. During the entire process of customers placing orders, making payment and waiters serving customers, no sound is made. This is because all the workers are deaf.

Unable to talk, the staff at Flow-ee welcome guests with bright smiles and expressive eyes. Customers just need to point to the items they want on the menu, and nod or shake their head to show their agreement or disagreement. They also can write down on the paper what they want to order. There are instructions everywhere in the shop to make it convenient for customers to place orders.

Flow-ee was established in August 2023 by eight founders. Each of them takes his own job and operates in his own field, but all of them have one thing in common: they once had chances to work and communicate with the disabled. They understand the problems that people with a disability have to face, and believed that they can work and contribute to the development of the society if they are given opportunities.

The idea of opening the café came from Vu Thi Quyen, one of the founders. 

“I am a person with a disability myself, and I wanted to create opportunities and environment for other individuals to work, create and become self-confident, especially deaf people,” she said.

‘Flow-ee’ means stream, the stream of water, time, music and life. Ups and downs, rise and fall all occur in the life. Since some people have to live with disabilities and difficulties, they are rewarded by the opportunities which help them feel more joy and create sounds of their own.

Like its name, the major colors of the coffee shop are gray and yellow. The gray represents dark corners, while yellow symbolizes freshness and hope.

There are six workers at Flow-ee. All of them are young, aged 21-33. They are called with warm names – flowers, the flowers that head for the sunlight. Most of them have experience in different jobs, from sales to drink preparation. They are connected with Flow-ee through inclusive development organizations and training establishments specifically designed for the disabled.

“We experienced a very difficult period on the first days of operation, because none of the founding team could use sign language, it was very difficult to communicate with the staff,” Quyen recalled.

“We had no experience in food and beverage and we had to begin our work from zero. When opening the shop, I thought whether customers would feel uncomfortable if they have to gesture to show what they want,” she continued. “But we still decided to go ahead, because we have belief, in the staff and the community."

After one month of operation, Flow-ee has become a favorite destination of many customers. There are more and more sticky notes pinned on the board at the coffee shop, where clients express their feelings, love and encouragement towards the staff.

“We have experienced wonderful moments that I hope I can keep forever, when the staff received salary for the first month of working or received tips from customers,” Quyen said. “They leaped for joy, which made me so happy. This is proof that we are going on the right track."

One of the signature drinks at Flow-ee is wine bingsu, which is the perfect combination between the cool, sweet taste of the ice cream and the slightly spicy, fragrant aroma of wine.

Unlike the shaved ice sprinkled with syrup like at other cafes, the wine bingsu at Flow-ee is made from pureed fresh fruits and soft ice cream.

Thuy Chi - Xuan Minh