Believe it or not, until December 2, there was no one-stop shop for caffeine and creatives—no Kinko’s/Starbucks joint venture. Keith Leaphart, the CEO who reimagined the graphic design firm
Replica Creative at a time when many thought print was a dying business, saw this as an obvious opportunity.
"I’m proud that Philadelphia is the birthplace of this concept,” says Leaphart. "
The Creative Café @ Replica allows us to do what we love to do best, and that is provide great services, while meeting and greeting people. And what better way to do that than over coffee?”
The Creative Café @ Replica prints marketing materials, wedding invitations and custom wall graphics while serving up comfort food from
DiBruno Brothers and coffee from
Counter Culture. Leaphart hopes that the cafe/lounge/print shop hybrid will be more than the sum of its parts; its location at
University City Science Center should be a huge asset.
"So much is happening in University City," he says. "The creative economy is truly thriving; and University City is one of the best places to be, to foster and grow original concepts. When we found this space in the Science Center, it was love at first sight…I was excited at the opportunity to launch the concept in the heart of the innovation zone."
Though two different groups of employees were hired to staff Creative Café (graphic designers and baristas), Leaphart looked for the same basic qualities when hiring
"Across the board, we like intelligent, energetic, creative types who understand that our corporate philosophy is ‘Grow or Go!’" he explains.
The Creative Cafe @ Replica is located at 3711 Market Street; to learn more, visit replicacreative.com and follow @designprintcafe on Twitter.
Writer: Nicole Woods
Source: Keith Leaphart, Creative Café @ Replica