Quill's: A New Buzz

A heady blend of chocolate and coffee fills the air at the new location of Quills coffeehouse on Baxter Avenue in the Original Highlands.

Rental problems compelled owners Nathan and Gabriel Quillo to close the original Germantown location last August, and former regulars are rejoicing at its return.

“I was saddened when it closed,” says Adam Renner, professor of education at Bellarmine University. “ It was my favorite coffee shop.”

Renner notes that the studious-yet-warm atmosphere is practically identical to the original's.

“You just feel smarter when you walk in,” he says.

Several patrons are absorbed in books and taking notes in the soft, oversize chairs and various cozy seating nooks. The walls are covered with cute artwork, and shiny dark wood is everywhere.

The Quillo brothers opened the new location four weeks ago. They discovered the space when a former regular, also a bartender at Flanagan's Ale House, tipped them off to a vacant building next door on Baxter being offered for rent by Tom O'Shea, owner of Flanagans's and O'Shea's Irish Pub.

They spent six months rehabbing the space into a bigger, better, brighter version of the dearly departed Quills. The new one is two stories, with enough space for a second-floor conference room they rent by the hour.

Nathan Quillo recalls seeing inside the new location for the first time.

“The staircase was behind drywall,” he says. “The brick was hidden. It just looked really run-down and drab.”

They exposed the beams and all its other hidden charms. And there have been more changes for the better.

Chocolatier Erica Chavez-Graziano, whose treats were also sold at the old Quills, now makes her candies on the premises, in a room she rents on the first floor. That explains the aroma of chocolate that wafts through the space.

“Chocolate and coffee just go hand in hand,” she says while working on a batch of chocolate owls made with Quills' espresso beans.

Chavez-Graziano, who also sells her wares at local candy shops, warns chocolate lovers that her truffles are so rich that “one or two is all you need. You don't want to eat a whole box in one sitting.”

Back in the café, medical student Maja Skikic sits in a big, comfy chair, shoeless, with legs tucked under her. Skikic, 26, is deep into her studies.

“I have to feel comfortable to be able to stay all day. I like their espresso. It has a very European taste” says Skikic, who moved here from her native Bosnia.

The espresso is among the customers' favorites, Quillo says, but the hottest drink is still the Café Miele. A blend of coffee with honey and a dash of cinnamon, it was also the “it” drink at the previous location.

Quills buys its blends from Safai Enterprises, which makes exclusive Quills blends, and Sunergos Coffee.

And there is more to do than study and sip at Quills, The Quillos already have booked a jazz trio to play every Friday from 7 to 9 p.m., and other performances and events involving other nearby businesses are in the works.

Nathan Quillo says he is energized by his cafe's new neighborhood.

“There is just so much more energy and this positive vibe around here.”