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Date: 4/3/2019
CHICOPEE – The smell of chamomile tea wafts through the air on a slow, sunny morning at GoodWorks Coffee House. The husband and wife owners, Victor Narvaez and Katie Narvaez, are sitting at a back table near the counter. GoodWorks, at 46 Center St. in Chicopee, just celebrated its one-year anniversary on Jan. 30. The couple said it’s been a good year.
“We didn't know what kind of customers we were going to get or if we were going to get any. Surprisingly, we get lots of working professionals,” Victor said. They get repeat customers who come in two to three times a week.
Katie is quick to credit their success with the help they have received from the community. The Chicopee Community Development Block Grant aided them in the purchase of equipment and furniture when they first opened. Victor's aunt connected them to the Massachusetts Small Business Association.
“I took a seven-week crash course,” Victor said. “They connected me to a business mentor. They made corrections to our business plan.”
Katie added, “They helped us know what we were getting ourselves into.”
The couple named their business GoodWorks because they wanted to incorporate social service to the community.
"Before we even opened we discussed incorporating the social work into the business,” said Victor. That social work takes on many different forms.
GoodWorks uses fair trade and locally sourced products. The coffee they use is exclusively from Monsoon, a roastery in Springfield. Monsoon is committed to sustainable, environmentally-friendly products and working with local businesses. For the Narvaezes, partnering with Monsoon Roastery was a no-brainer.
“We were the first shop to go with them full-time, so both of our businesses sort of took off, and we kind of created a friendship,” said Katie.
People can utilize the space after hours, Katie explained. GoodWorks has been the site of a fashion line launch, a book signing, an art expo, and birthday parties. Aside from the use of the space after hours, artists display their art in the shop and it is available for sale with the proceeds going to the artist. GoodWorks promotes the artists on Facebook and invites artists in the shop for customers to engage with.
“It's the same with music,” said Victor. They have open mic nights on the third Thursday of every month. The arts have a place in their hearts because Victor sings and Katie is an artist.
GoodWorks also engaged in a program through the New England Farm Workers’ Council (NEFWC), a human services agency that helps low-income residents in southern New England. The program allowed GoodWorks to provide a young woman with work experience.
“She was getting paid by [NEFWC] and we gave her the work. She was with us for a couple of months. She got her license, went to college,” Katie said. The Valley Opportunity Council, which is GoodWorks’ landlord, has a similar program that pays youth while local businesses supply the work experience.
When GoodWorks first opened, Katie, who still works as a therapist when GoodWorks is closed, was expecting their third child. She said having the worker from the NEFWC was helpful since Victor was still working for the Department of Children and Families (DCF).
Victor worked at DCF for 11 years. In the last few years there he had begun working with at-risk youth. That’s when the couple decided to make a change.
“It was my fault, ” said Victor, laughing. “It got to the point [at DCF] where I felt like I was destined to do more. I wanted to invest in the community.”
Katie added, “He didn't want to work for other people his whole life.” Victor resigned in June to work full time at GoodWorks.
Victor has kept with his DCF co-workers, though, and at Christmas, GoodWorks sponsored over 80 kids.
“We had this event called ‘Tree of Hope,’” Victor explained. There was a wooden tree on the wall and on a board next to it they were hearts with children's names. People in the community were able to select a child and purchase gifts for them. At the end of the event, GoodWorks held a Christmas concert.
Chicopee is trying to revitalize the downtown area and the Narvaezes say it’s starting to work. Since GoodWorks opened just over a year ago, a salon named Studio L moved in next-door and a tax preparation business opened a few doors away. A former mill in the area is being remodeled and repurposed into housing.
“There have been a lot of people coming in and inquiring about the area,” said Katie.
In February, the Chicopee Cultural Council, of which the Narvaezes are members, partnered with the city and the Chamber of Commerce to hold an event called “Lights on Art and Culture.” Katie said the purpose was to “shed the light on downtown Chicopee.” Businesses were lit up in blue lights to entice people to come downtown.
“For a while, there wasn't much action here,” Victor said of downtown Chicopee.
“We want people to know what’s down here and get people down here,” said Katie.
While the first year in business has been successful, GoodWorks is looking to expand its offerings.
“For summer we’re looking into doing smoothies. People have asked for bigger iced drinks,” Katie said.
“And we're going to be featuring other people's products,” added Victor. Every Thursday, they plan to carry cookies from Hot Oven, based in Springfield. They also plan to work with Bella Foodie, to supply salads.
“I like [the owner, Ashley Tresoline] because it's organic and she works with local farms,” Katie said. They already carry pastries from Bernardino’s Bakery, another Chicopee area business.
Come April, they want to do a runners’ and walkers’ group on Saturdays.
“We’ll start here and go by the water and come back,” Katie said. Afterward, she said, they will open for a couple of hours, since customers have expressed interest in coming in on Saturdays.