Under the warm yellow light, the staff of Flow-ee cafe are working attentively. Under their skillful and agile hands, the wine bingsu – the shop’s “signature” dish – is ready to serve customers.
At first glance, everyone would think this is a normal coffee shop. However, during the entire process of customers ordering, paying, and serving, not a single sound was made. Because the employees here are all deaf.
Unable to converse, Flow-ee staff instead greet customers with bright smiles and expressive eyes. Customers point to the menu, nod or shake their heads, or write on pieces of paper. There are signs throughout the restaurant to make ordering easier.
Flow-ee was founded in August 2023 with 8 founding members. Each person has a different job and profession, but the common point between them is that they have all had the opportunity to work and interact with people with disabilities. Not only do they understand the difficulties that people with disabilities have to go through, the founders also have a belief that people with disabilities are still capable of working like normal people, as long as they are given the opportunity.
The idea of opening a cafe with deaf staff came from Ms. Vu Thi Quyen - one of the founders. "I myself am disabled, so I always want to create opportunities and environments for others to promote dynamism, creativity and confidence within them, especially deaf people," Ms. Quyen shared.
The name Flow-ee means flow. The flow of water, of time, of music, or of life. Everything will have its highs and lows, its ups and downs. While life has forced people with disabilities to face many difficulties, there will also be other opportunities given to them, so they can find their own joys and sounds. In harmony with the name, the main colors of the shop are gray and yellow. Gray represents the dark corners, while yellow represents joy and hope.
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Flow-ee currently has 6 employees, who are young people from 21 to 33 years old. They are affectionately called flowers - flowers that always turn towards the sunlight. Most of them have done different jobs such as sales, bartending... The opportunity for them to come to Flow-ee is through organizations that develop integration, train and receive people with disabilities.
“The initial time when we opened the shop was really difficult. Because no one in the founding team knew sign language, communicating with you took a lot of time. Besides, we also had no experience in the food and beverage industry, we all had to learn from scratch. When we opened the shop, I was also worried about whether customers would feel annoyed when coming to a coffee shop that had to do too many operations... But even so, we were determined to do it, because we always had faith. Faith in you as well as the community.”
Not letting down the efforts of the whole team and the staff, after more than a month of operation, Flow-ee has now become a favorite place for many customers. On the board hanging in the shop, the number of notes pinned up day by day. In it are the feelings, love, encouragement and motivation of customers sent to the shop. Each cute line not only brings joy but also becomes the motivation for members to try harder every day.
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“There are so many moments I wish I could capture, like when the staff received their first salary or tips from customers. They jumped up with joy and their eyes lit up, making me happy too. And we knew we were on the right track,” Quyen shared.
Le Hong Son is one of the restaurant's employees. Son impresses customers with a bright smile that is always on his face. Unable to talk, Son "compensates" by always paying close attention to see what customers need, by bowing, waving his hand respectfully, and by looking sincerely. During his time working at the restaurant, Son not only became more confident but also always tried hard every day to learn and take care of each item served to customers.
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One of Flow-ee's favorite dishes is wine bingsu - the perfect combination of the cool sweetness of snow ice cream with the light, spicy aroma of wine. Unlike shaved ice drizzled with syrup like many other places, Flow-ee's bingsu is made from fresh fruit pureed from the beginning, so when you eat it, the ice cream feels soft, melts in your mouth, and smells of fruit. Customers can combine it with a little wine of any kind depending on their preference to enhance the flavor and impression of the bingsu.
The first time he came to Flow-ee, Mr. Dao Van Cuong (Hanoi) was quite surprised to know that all the staff here were deaf. From the initial surprise, he has now become a regular customer of the shop every morning. Mr. Son said: “This place makes me feel very different from normal coffee shops. Every time I come here, I feel warm and comfortable. Although the staff cannot hear or speak, they are very attentive and come and go at the right time. The drinks at the shop are also very delicious, and they are all skilled. I think they can work like normal people, creating good values for society like everyone else. "
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Mr. Cuong has become a regular customer of the restaurant.
What the Flow-ee founding team is most proud of is probably the recognition of the customers who come to the shop. Now, customers come to the shop not because of curiosity or compassion for the less fortunate, but because of the drinks and the service attitude of the staff. This is the most valuable and meaningful recognition for all members of Flow-ee, so that the whole team continues to persevere on the journey of spreading joy and positivity to the community.
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