Eastern Grad Creates Community Café

Mathew Biadun | News-Editor

“Love Coffee, Love People.”

That’s the slogan of Silk City Coffee, and the philosophy that drives one of its founders, Tammy Gerhard. A member of Eastern’s Class of ’92, Tammy majored in psychology and went on to spend twenty-two years as a guidance counselor. Helping others was always at the heart of her work, in and out of school. Beyond counseling, she wrote children’s books and helped develop support programs for survivors of human trafficking.

The idea to open a coffee shop started with a college visit. While visiting a college in Nashville with her daughter, Tammy discovered a coffee shop called The Well that was using its profits to make a positive difference locally, and hosted a bulletin board where community members could share their needs and others could help meet them. The concept struck a cord. A coffee shop, she realized, could be more than a place to catch a cappuccino, it could foster community, support local causes and bring people together. That inspiration became the foundation of Silk City Coffee.

When Tammy returned to Connecticut, she shared the vision with one of her former students, Sarah, over a coffee date. She, and her husband Rob, had been Tammy’s first “double-alumni” wedding and while working at a private school in Manchester, had been part of her student leadership team where they served together meeting community needs. They discovered that they all shared a passion for coffee and café culture. To prepare, Rob and Sarah soon headed to Portland, Oregon, to attend a coffee-business school and she and Glenn purchased the building that would become their Manchester shop which opened in October of 2016.

From the start, Silk City was a team effort. Tammy focused on community outreach, building

connections with local nonprofits and creating a welcoming environment for staff and customers. Her husband, Glenn, a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) and finance director at a large company, managed the finances. Sarah, a photography major and avid home baker, shaped the café’s visual identity and experimented with new baked goods for the menu. Rob, who had fallen in love with specialty coffee while serving on coffee farms abroad, handled the coffee side of the business.

Silk City Coffee’s initial Manchester location was a hit. They were able to move forward and

open a roastery, and as the first location neared its tenth year, they began to look to open a

second cafe. “Every single Main Street deserves an excellent community-based coffee shop,” Tammy said. The town of her former university felt like the perfect next step. Opening a café in Willimantic “felt like coming home.” It basically was; it was only a few minutes’ walk from her prior dorm, Low-Rise.

Nestled between a tattoo parlor and an H&R Block, Silk City’s Willimantic location stands out. The two-story wooden building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, looks like a house, but hasn’t been one in a while. Another local café called Grounded Coffee occupied the space before. When Grounded closed, they passed the torch to Silk City, which took over the location and opened earlier this month.

Silk City’s already become involved with local community efforts. Before our interview, Tammy had attended the reopening of a local homeless shelter, which had been renovated through the generous donations of a local philanthropist. It now provides ‘dignity-based housing’: housing that gives the homeless not only beds, but a sense of privacy alongside them. The homeless shelter had received donations from Silk City before they moved into Willimantic, and Tammy was pleased to see it reopening better-than-ever.

Beyond serving its own customers, the business also supplies beans to other cafés across the state and beyond through its growing wholesale and e-commerce platform. Challenges remain, rising costs and new tariffs on imported coffee beans among them, but Tammy remains optimistic. Her advice? “Look for people to collaborate with and partner with.” Their greatest strength, she says, is connecting people together, and the business wouldn’t have been possible without everyone’s strengths working together.

In addition to supporting local nonprofits, Silk City has also partnered with Eastern through the new Eastern Passport program. Students who visit the café and show their passport can enjoy one free drink of their choice on the house! I also personally recommend the pumpkin bread, which is delicious and, like the rest of their products, made in their Manchester bakery with primarily all natural ingredients! Just a short walk from campus, Silk City Coffee can be found at 869 Main Street, Willimantic.