Flying Machine Coffee has existed in Downtown Urbana at Cafeteria & Company for a few years now, and now there is good news to be shared: they are expanding to an additional location in Midtown Champaign. They’re calling it Flying Machine Coffee: Avionics.
Formerly occupied by Cracked Glass, Avionics will be similar to what you can find at FMC at current, though there will be some new additions to the mix.
There have been some exciting announcements that have come as of late, including Hopscotch’s expansion, and Caribbean Grill’s new brick-and-mortar. Midtown is on the up-and-up — as it is no secret that Midtown Plaza is being built.
Check out what FMC’s Josh Lucas has to say, below, about the expansion to a second location. They hope to have it open soon, and we’ll get
Good news everyone!
All of us at Flying Machine Coffee are excited to announce the opening of our second location!
What the staff has lovingly titled Flying Machine Again, Flying Machine Also, the Cafe Formerly Known As Sign Wave…we will be calling Flying Machine Avionics. Of course, we are very happy to be in downtown Urbana — and have no intention of leaving anytime soon.
“Avionics” is the broad term for the inner workings of any flying machine. Including communications, navigation, control monitoring, etc. We want to take this opportunity to expand on our skills and bring greater focus to what we love. To show you not only what good coffee is, but how it works, and why it works. The specialty coffee world is growing. And that growth means figuring out what is better for our community as a whole. Relationships between farmer and roaster, roaster and cafe, cafe and employee, employee and customer. But most importantly we want to have fun. And create a space that is welcoming to everyone.
We are absolutely over the moon knowing we get to bring our wacky family to Champaign and add just a little more love to the community. Avionics will be located at 202 S. First Street in Champaign. In the former Cracked Glass studios building, don’t worry they just moved.
We are working on some new drinks, and new coffees. The cafe menu will be very similar to Flying Machine Urbana. And lastly, a food menu that better fits our customer base and personality.
I’m super excited about the small kitchen we will be utilizing. The food menu will be an evolving thing for a while because I haven’t used that part of my brain in a few years. But we will be making some simple and exciting things to nosh. Sandwiches, soups, and salads are the base of most cafe menus so we are working to make some classic ideas both accessible and new. Obviously using local ingredients at every opportunity. A few good grab and go breakfast foods. And popcorn, don’t ask me why, but popcorn. Caramel corn, sweet and spicy, cheddar, and we have a few other tricks up our sleeves.
Build out and all of that can be a lengthy process, so the tentative open date is Spring 2017 (fingers crossed). We will work a quickly as we can. And trust us, we can’t keep our mouths closed so you will know when we do.
— Josh Lucas, owner, Flying Machine Coffee
Here is the floor plan for the new location as well (Pro tip: Open the image in a new window to zoom and check out details):
Check out Pam’s review from way back in the day here.
