Jenny and Brandt DeLorenzo are the duo behind the beloved Plants + Coffee shop in Easton. Jenny creates the vision of the shop along with the bagel and cream cheese recipes while Brandt oversees the café operation. Stop in for a magical experience that combines delicious lattes with your favorite greenery.
Tell us about the journey to launching Plants + Coffee!
We always loved the idea of creating our own little place for people to relax, eat and drink, all while surrounded by the plants that we sell from our Nazareth store, called The Curious Plantaholic. We wanted to do this for years, but when we spent a week in New Orleans in the Treme district with a small café on a corner where we could get our coffee and enjoy snacks, we knew it was time to really try.
Where did the inspiration to combine plants and coffee come from?
We've had great success running The Curious Plantaholic, but we wanted to take things one step further than just plants. So, why not put a plant store inside of a café? Houseplant interest skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic and has only slowed slightly since 2020. Why not provide a fun little space where you can enjoy a latte or one of our pizza bagels while literally surrounded by fun houseplants?
Describe the overall vibe of the store!
We try to maintain a jungle atmosphere, where you have plants everywhere. Our plants are all for sale, so many are going out the door, but we do our best to keep the shelves and aisles full of unique and fun plants. We offer gift items, pottery, apparel and our custom Plants + Coffee blend of coffee from Monocacy Coffee Co. in Bethlehem.
Plant-wise, what can shoppers expect to find in store?
We offer plants of all prices, from $6 and up, but we also bring some of the fun plants that you wouldn't normally find elsewhere from our Nazareth shop. While the shelves will be filled with pothos, alocasias, peperomias and your common philodendrons, we also have some fun anthuriums, a big philodendron or even carnivorous plants from Evil Peat, our carnivorous-plant growing operation.
Tell us about your food and drink offerings!
We always just wanted to be unique and fun, so we do our best to come up with fun and unique drinks that you might not find anywhere else. Our Honey Lavender Latte is a huge hit, but we have fun chai drinks, unique teas and yummy matcha concoctions on the menu at all times. We rotate our drinks every holiday and season, but we'll always offer our crowd favorites year-round. For our bagels, we work with Yuri Laubach from The Other Fish to build some really fun bagel options. Remember pizza bagels when you were a kid? Well we have our adult Pizza Bagel, and it's one of the most popular bagels we sell. But, we also have a Popper Bagel (like a big jalapeño popper), a Cannoli Bagel with our homemade cannoli cream cheese, the basic Hammy Sammie and so many more. We just started offering mini bagel flights: three bagels on a bagel board, and those are really popular. We offer a sweet option and a savory option. Finally, we have a kids menu (also for adults) with three fun dessert bagels along with baked goods. We do offer gluten-free baked goods and many of our drinks are also gluten-free and vegan.
Tell us about the decision to offer so many fun and seasonal specials throughout the year!
With coffee, lattes, bagels and baked goods being something we all enjoy daily, it's important to offer something new and fun. We do this with the help of our baristas and staff; without them, we definitely wouldn't have all these fun and yummy specials.
What are you looking forward to offering this summer?
Summer is all about staying cool and we have a great selection of refreshing drink options that we're planning. We currently offer a line of spritzers: lightly flavored drinks for those who aren't in the mood for a latte, chai or matcha. We'll continue to expand on the spritzers when the warm weather comes around with new flavors, although our Lavender Rose Basil Spritzer is a year-round favorite.
What do you love about hosting events at the shop? Tell us about some of your favorites.
We've held a few different events so far: terrarium building, carnivorous plant bogs and our Night of Zen. We're looking forward to more fun when the warmer weather arrives with open mic nights!
1458 Northampton St., Easton | 610.905.5030 | plantsandcoffee.com
Published as “Get the Goods” in the May 2024 edition of Lehigh Valley Style magazine.
