Kensington Grows, Cooks, & Blogs: An Interview with Blew Kind of Franny Lou's Porch (Part 2)

By Matt Hilferty

Interfaith Philadelphia launched the Crafting Community Project in Kensington in the Fall of 2020. Through this neighborhood-rooted art and education initiative, we collaborated with organizations, faith communities, and neighbors to launch the Kensington Grows, Cooks, and Serves, a multi-part series exploring the intersections of food, faith, and culture within the Kensington area. One component of this initiative is a blog interview series highlighting Kensington-based restaurants and grocers who demonstrate understanding, community-centeredness, and the celebration of diversity. This week we sat down with Blew Kind, founder, and co-owner of Franny Lou's Porch. This interview was published in two parts. This is Part 2 of 2.

4. In what way does your business help foster understanding and promote community relationships?

Opening up a space for dialogue so we can understand each other. We do that from the inside out, we focus on dialogue heavily within our tribe and then the energy will exude to our neighbors

Sometimes that starts with team-building exercises and conflict-resolution training. And really understanding others' needs as humans. We recently had a training on de-escalation for our tribe and at the end of the month, we’re going to have a potluck meeting and talk about boundaries and emotional spaces being balanced with a workspace therapist. So we try to do work in community safety here so that it can overflow into the community around us. Just getting to having a conversation is an important tool for building community.

5. What is your favorite item on your menu or in your stock?

My favorite item right now is an MLK sweetened with maple syrup instead of sugar and a little bit of cayenne. It's a latte with peanut butter, so it's like a peanut butter mocha. It's spicy and sweet. 

6. What food or types of food are meaningful for you? Is that food connected to a faith, religious, or spiritual practice/value? If yes, how? 

The values are connected to the meaningfulness of the food we serve. For example, we have fair-trade sugars to sweeten our coffee to ensure that farmers are paid justly. Frances E.W. Harper has a quote where she says, "I would rather wear a coarser dress made with free hands than a finer dress made with the hands of blood. “ She was very aware that it took slave labor to make products and things. So, that's my highest thing, it's like, “Yo, before it's organic, I actually want to make sure it's ethically sourced and fostered.” Our coffee beans are also all ethically sourced. So I think that is my faith, it's that these products all come from the people, and they don’t just magically appear. Different owners have different connections to the food they serve, but that's our connection and Franny Lou’s.

7. Why do you believe that sharing food and eating together is an important practice? How is it related to sharing culture, faith, and community?

They say healthy families meet around the table to talk because we all have to eat. It just makes it easier to congregate when the food is good. Not even tasty, but nutritious. Like, for Thanksgiving people will eat turkey and turkey helps people to fall asleep afterward. Which, I don’t really think is that healthy. Whereas, when you eat nutrient-dense food with people, your brain will actually function higher. 

Soon, we’re going to host an event called the Sunset Tea, a high tea-inspired event with food and tea, and discussion. It’s a European practice of using tea from black and brown countries to create a system of colonialist superiority. So this is a time we are reclaiming our tea experience. What I like about it is that it helps people to relax. There are no screens involved, and sometimes, like at our event, there are speakers. People just sit around, Listen and connect to each other, then afterward you are to have energy for the rest of your day. 

We are starting our own and It is to be a diasporic event. Our food is going to be connected to these roots- cornbread cookies, okra cakes- things that are really diasporic in nature so that we can educate about the origins of the food and make that connection between the food, the event, and the conversation. It will be a restful experience. Rest is healthy so that's something we can learn from the Sunset Tea.

8. What do you love most about living/working in the neighborhood?

Things have changed, so there is sadness there. There used to be a lot more open parks and orchards. There used to be a space with two or so willow trees that was called the positive space. It was right next to this building, and now there are all these houses that are going up, and that was a fight. There were gardens right up the street. There was a beautiful yellow ginkgo tree right outside that was shot and it was torn down to build a house. So I think I have some loss because I really like that connection between nature, city, and town aspect. 

But outside of that, I really love the other businesses here. We have a community of care and there are people that are moving here, like families, that are starting with little kids. People are moving here that want to be a part of the community. Which is nice, but sometimes it takes a minute for folks to get out of their individualized space of existence to get comfortable with even saying, “Hi.” So, I think Franny Lou’s is healthy for that type of person, too. The businesses around here are great, like Thunderbird Salvage, Amalgam Comics, Pizza Brain, and Circle Thrift on Frankford. This area is really special and we love being a part of it. 

Photo: Blue at Franny Lou's