New Nepali coffee shop serves purple drinks, ice cream and 'good vibes' in Germantown

Between the neon sign reading “good vibes only,” chill background music, and hanging plants, this new Germantown spot might look like your average coffee shop.

Upon closer look, you’ll see ingredients not found anywhere else in Louisville.

Consider colorful drinks made with ube, a type of purple yam, or a strawberry-rose latte with Nutella.

Yes, avocado toast pops up on the menu. So does tuna toast and a prosciutto sandwich. If you’re in search of something sweeter, waffles and freshly scooped ice cream are available.

This is some of what you’ll find at Phalcha Coffee, which opened in early March at 1001 Mary St., alongside classic coffees and tea.

The dreamy coffee shop is a dream come to life for its four co-owners, including sisters Priya Ghale and Shristi Ghale and husband-and-wife Bishal Suwal and Kriti Malla. The Louisville-area residents met a few years ago and bonded over originally being from Nepal.

“We’re all from Nepal, so we got together and decided to do something,” Priya Ghale told the Courier Journal. “You don’t see a lot of Nepali restaurants or coffee shops here.”

While juggling their day jobs, which include being an optician, respiratory therapist, registered nurse, and engineer at Humana, they began building what is now Phalcha Coffee.

The name comes from a Nepali word for “resting place,” and the owners wanted to create a place where people could hang out and stay awhile.

“This is a place to come in and chill and relieve stress,” Ghale said.

After landing on the location in August 2023, they put a lot of work into the Mary Street space.

“This is a great neighborhood,” Ghale said. “We’ve been getting a lot of support.”

Support has been seen on social media where Phalcha Coffee shares aesthetically pleasing photos of its pretty drinks and has quickly gained a strong following.

“That was our goal,” Ghale said. “We wanted to make it good for the eyes and the taste.”

Phalcha Coffee is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Reach food reporter Amanda Hancock at [email protected]. 

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Phalcha Coffee in Louisville serves purple drinks and 'good vibes'