Tammy Gerhard wants her new Silk City Coffee shop to become everyone’s “third place,” meaning not home and not work, but their favorite public place to hang out, find emotional warmth, good conversation or quiet time.
It’s pretty certain the coffee will be outstanding, as the original Silk City Coffee in Manchester, after which the new one is modeled, was declared among the top 100 coffee shops in the world, making it to 67th on the world stage. It was the real deal she said, and has upped their profile significantly.
They were nominated by a customer. The coffee, roasted by them in Manchester, is shipped all over the world.
Tammy Gerhard and Sarah May are primary owners of Silk City Coffee in Manchester and more recently. Willimantic. The Manchester location was named in the top 100 coffee shops in the world. (Courtesy)
The charm of the place isn’t just the scratch baking, fresh bread, sandwiches and other drinks or even just the coffee.
The coffee shop is also a place where guests can post on a message board and ask for a myriad of everyday favors, such as a car repair, tutoring, a room painted, school shoes, backpacks or even encouragement.
Guests can also be part of helping bigger community causes, fighting human trafficking, hunger. homelessness, cancer and more through portions of certain product sales, including a monthly cookie. In nine years through the Manchester shop they’ve given out about $30,000 to local organizations
The new shop in Willimantic at 869 Main St. has the same name as the original in Manchester, named in honor of Manchester’s history as a hub of silk manufacturing.
“I love the opportunity to create a safe, welcoming space for people to gather, connect and dream and care for the community around them,” Gerhard said.
The remarkable story of how the business came to be had a lot to do with a coffee date.
Gerhard had been a school guidance counselor for 22 years and took her daughter to Nashville for a college visit. It was there she came across a coffee shop where they had a community board for people with needs and causes. The concept prompted several churches to put aside their differences and pitch in for the greater good.
“It was a catalyst for a community to do good,” she said. “It was beautiful.”
“Deeply inspired” by the positive impact it was having on the community,” Gerhard came home and told her husband, Glenn, she wanted to open a coffee shop with the same giving philosophy in Manchester. He agreed and told her she would need someone to run it.
A week later, Gerhard had a coffee shop date with two former high school students she was close to because they were involved in a student leadership program with her in high school. The students, dating in high school and now a married couple, Sarah and Rob May, had just returned to Manchester and they were meeting to catch up.
They happened to mention that in packing they found journals from high school where they wrote at age 15 about wanting to open a coffee shop one day.
They hadn’t met to talk coffee shop and didn’t know about Gerhard’s idea.
Soon, they had a partnership and the women believed that meeting was meant to be.
“There was perfect synergy,” Gerhard said. “It’s amazing what a coffee date can do. ”
The motto of Silk City Coffee is, “Love coffee, Love people.”
And they are as true to that concept one can get.
Tammy Gerhard brought her planning, counseling and giving skillset, her husband Glenn brought financial expertise and the Mays brought hospitality, including Sarah’s handwritten recipes that she used long ago with her grandma when Sarah needed step stool to bake.
They bought a building in Manchester and the Mays went to school in Oregon to learn how to run a coffee shop business.
Tammy and Sarah are now majority owners, so it’s a woman-owned business.
Sarah May said she always thought if she and Rob had a coffee shop he would spend his time at the coffee bar and she’d be in the kitchen baking all day.
“It has snowballed into something so much bigger, wider, and deeper than that. I am so grateful for what this has turned into and I’m so excited to see where it goes, ” she said. “The joy of running your own business is that you can build it to highlight all your very favorite things.
“I love gathering people together. I love serving incredible food and drink. I love baking. I love taking photos and marketing what’s going on in our cafe, I love hospitality and creating a warm environment for people to gather, providing full time jobs for great people within the coffee industry… the list goes on and on,” she said.
Tammy Gerhard and Sarah May are primary owners of Silk City Coffee in Manchester and more recently. Willimantic. The Manchester location was named in the top 100 coffee shops in the world. (Courtesy)
More than anything, “we wanted an excellent product and to draw the community together,” Gerhard said. “We wanted a space to draw the community together. A board where anyone can share their needs and have them met.”
