Behind the AMC in Covina sits a crepe corner cafe created by a famous immigrant actor whose passion is merging the love of music with the communal environment that food brings.
Flower Beans Cafe provides its community with a wide variety of coffee, smoothies, teas, sweet/savory crepes and much more. I was greeted by the owner who also took my order.
I tried their mango smoothie and chicken Florentine, their staple in savory crepes.
The mango blended on the spot with just the right amount of sweetness. Alongside my best friend Maya Ramriez, we both agreed that for $6.86, the freshness and size alone were worth coming back again.
The chicken Florentine was much larger than we had expected. Granted, Maya and I didn’t really know what a Florentine was, but we were pleasantly surprised. It was a crepe that included chicken breast, fresh spinach, cheese and hollandaise sauce. Much like the mango smoothie, the chicken was freshly made on the spot with sizzling sounds accompanying the whirls from the blender. For $12.69, the size was large enough to be split between Maya and me.
The cafe provided multiple seating areas, some including charging ports for college students wanting to study, which is also what Maya and I partook in for three hours. During that time, a water station was available to us as well as a mix of jazz music, Disney soundtracks and a song by the Marias when Guo’s employee came in.
“The signature drink is called Mexican mocha,” Gavin Guo, the owner, said. “It is a special one. It’s, I would say, only here. We also have an ice blend mocha, ice blend horchata, ice blend matcha green tea. Now we have a brand new strawberry matcha drink and smoothies. We only use real fruits and fresh fruits. You know, we don’t use fake fruits.”
He takes pride in utilizing only fresh ingredients.
“The name Flower Beans, it’s like growing rice and beans, in the ground,” Guo said.
Guo, also known as Guo Jiaming (郭家铭), visited the States for the first time in 2007 to be nominated for an Emmy playing a lead role in the 2007 Chinese movie, “My Own Private Deutschland,” where Xiao Yang, played by Guo, travels to Germany to study. He gets his money stolen by his friend and is stranded in a foreign country and is put through a series of setbacks.
Throughout the week, the cafe becomes more than a space for eating, but a space for music lovers. Tables will be pushed aside to allow for musicians of all different backgrounds and genres to play for the community.
“Yeah, we invite a lot, the artists, different artists who are local,” Guo said. “Yeah, because I’m a pianist, a musician. I’m trying to not only make a restaurant, I want people to come for the community. Just come over!”
From 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on June 7, Flower Beans will host its first DJ party to celebrate the class of 2026 from neighboring schools. Performed by a 2026 graduate of Northview High School, DJ Rene, also known as @rrqvts on Instagram, Guo is expecting a good turnout.
Flower Beans Cafe is open from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. from Mondays through Sundays, excluding Tuesday, when they are open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 1406 N Azusa Ave Unit G Covina, CA 91722. Follow them @flowerbeanscreperie on Instagram.
