Stellow offers coffee and community!
Chamblee’s new coffee shop, Stellow, is more than an espresso bar, says owner Clinton Perry. The name is an ode to Perry’s grandmothers: “Stell” for one’s middle name, and “ow” for the other’s favorite color, yellow. He designed the shop’s environment, menu and atmosphere to be “a place where you feel welcomed, safe, relaxed,” with plans to add a floral shop component. “You come for the coffee and beautiful design, but you stay because of our team and community,” he says. Stellow is inspired by your grandmothers.
How does that translate into the menu?
One grandmother, Betty—Grandbetty— always had Fresca soda at her house when I was a kid, and to this day it’s really the only soda you’ll ever find at my house. So we made a Betty’s Fresca Tonic: Fresca, homemade citrus syrup and a double shot of espresso, garnished with an orange candy slice (she liked her sweets). The other, inspired by mornings at my grandmother Sammie’s, is our Sammie’s Sunrise, with homemade orange peel syrup and a dash of cinnamon, and garnished with a dried orange slice. She was an early riser and never missed her morning coffee or birdwatching from the kitchen table.
She would always make me a slice of toast with orange marmalade and a dash of cinnamon.
Do you have a personal favorite beverage?
I love our specialty drinks, but I find myself gravitating to our drip coffee. It truly has always been what I love most. I think as coffee grows in popularity, we find more and more ways to mask its flavor, but I love how my grandmother drinks it: a black drip. But please try all our specialty drinks and get creative!
Before opening your Chamblee cafe, your business operated as a mobile coffee cart. What lessons from that helped shape the brick-and-mortar experience?
We love our cute little Stellow Espresso Bars. They are still rolling around the city and all over Georgia. I had the original idea for a storefront with coffee and florals almost 15 years ago, but before I started this journey, I had a gut feeling not to take investments or partnerships, but to do it on my own and start small with espresso bars. I have loads of experience in the event space and figured it would be helpful to start strong there. In 2019, I began building the brand with my two close friends. I had never been in hospitality before, so that was a big learning curve. Then I began learning about coffee through espresso bars and shops. I followed Counter Culture’s training and methods through their training facility. I’m thankful for all our friends in Atlanta and all the things they did to help us get here.
STELLOW
stellow.com
@hellostellow
BY Claire Ruhlin
