back to news list »

Harwich Central Café

Putting Community First

It’s not the easiest place to find.

Maybe you’ve seen the logo-decorated car parked on Route 39 in Harwich Center, and wondered, where is that coffee shop located? But go around the corner and step inside the big red house on Parallel Street and you’ll be glad you made the effort.

The Harwich Central Café is owned and operated by Kris Larsen and her partner Blaise Fortunata. The smiling face behind the counter is usually Larsen herself, who enjoys greeting new customers and old friends alike to her two-year old shop. The Café’s motto is “a community place,” and that’s first and foremost what Larsen is striving for.

The aroma of freshly brewing organic coffee fills the air, and the warm colors on the walls and array of mismatched comfy chairs tempt you to sit down and relax with a cup of something warm. “It’s important to me to be a true community place. We need to support each other” Larsen says with an easy grin. “Harwich is a great place, and the people have all been very friendly. ”

She believes what she says, and lives by her words. Paintings and artwork by local artists hang on the café’s walls. In one corner sits a display of books by a Chatham author. WiFi is available in a sun-drenched room, allowing visitors to check their email or surf the ’net. Local musicians perform on Saturday afternoons, and Larsen hopes to have the shop’s hours extended so she can offer more entertainment, such as book readings and poetry slams in the evenings. Many of the baked goods are from local bakers, and even the Fair Trade coffee beans are a Massachusetts product, roasted in Northampton by Indigo Coffee, available on the Cape at only a handful of eco-conscious shops like Larsen’s.

After taking classes at Cape Cod Community College on starting and running a small business, Larsen and Fortunata shopped around for locations and settled on Parallel Street. The pair fell in love with both the town and the beautiful old building. They went to work renovating the 1830s Greek Revival home, tearing down dated wallpaper, choosing paint colors like Desert Sunset and Aztec Brick, and adding the wheelchair accessible ramp to make sure everyone in the community would feel welcome.

The café is the first business Larsen has owned. Despite taking classes and her years in the work force, she finds that owning a business is a different experience than she’d envisioned. “There’s so much more going on all the time than I ever would’ve imagined,” she says. “It’s so much more terrifying in some ways, but also so much more gratifying. People’s response (to the Café) has been really warm and wonderful.”

In retrospect, Larsen says with a wry smile, she made a misjudgment in choosing the location for her shop. “It’s not on the main road. Parallel Street is quiet and beautiful, but it’s off the beaten path. I didn’t realize how important that really is.” But Larsen has few regrets, saying the shop is just how she pictured it in her mind, and every year brings a few more improvements. Most of her customers find the shop through word-of-mouth recommendations. “Once they find us, people are very happy and keep coming back.”

Like many small business owners here, Larsen has roots on Cape Cod. “I was born in North Attleboro, but I graduated from Chatham High School.” Her mother still lives in South Chatham. She left the Cape after graduation, spending 22 years in California, working with disabled students at the University of California at Berkeley. But, she adds, “I always knew I’d come back to Cape Cod one day.”

Five years ago, she met Fortunata, and the pair returned to the Cape. They are partners in both business and life, having gotten married three years ago. While Larsen works with the café on a day-to-day basis, Fortunata has a separate career at Cape Cod Hospital. “Which is good,” Larsen says with a smile, “especially in the winter when the café is slow.”

It’s not just the slow months of winter that have Larsen concerned this year. “The current economy makes it harder for everyone,” she says. “People are counting their quarters. I’m grateful every time someone makes the choice to come in to buy something. Where people choose to spend their money is extremely important, and I make a point of thanking everyone who comes in.”

Being part of a vibrant community is also important to Larsen, and she thinks we need to help support one another and our local businesses. “We want to be busy, but I want all of Harwich Center to be busy. People should think about going to a small local business as opposed to a national chain.” This is one of the reasons the Harwich Central Café gets their coffee beans from Indigo Coffee rather than one of the other larger coffee dealers. “Indigo beans are freshly roasted the day I place the order,” Larsen says, “and then shipped the next day, as opposed to traveling cross country, or across the Atlantic.”

Indigo Coffee’s website describes the company as an independent artisan roaster and responsible member of the community. They contribute to the fundraising efforts of local and regional non-profit groups as well as to social, economic and environmental programs in the coffee growing regions through memberships in Coffee Kids and Grounds for Health, Organic and Fair Trade certifications and purchase of Fair Trade organic coffees. Through Mass Energy’s New England Greenstart program, 100% of Indigo Coffee’s electricity purchases are from renewable energy sources. “And it’s really good coffee,” Larsen adds.

Besides the delicious array of baked goods, Harwich Central Café offers wonderful soups, healthy sandwiches, salads, and freshly baked quiches. Time-crunched customers can call in an order for take-out, and catering is available for groups or meetings. Prices are reasonable, with all breakfast items on the menu under $5.00 and hearty lunch sandwiches (with chips and a pickle slice) only $6.75, with new specials daily. The Café is currently closed on Sundays. Call the Café at (508) 432-9801 for more information, or stop in to visit them at 98 Parallel Street in Harwich Center, halfway between Bank Street and Sisson Road. You’ll be happy you did.

www.harwichcentralcafe.com

Katie O’Sullivan lives and writes from her home in West Harwich. Her first novel, "Unfolding the Shadows," is due out this year.
www.katie-osullivan.com

« back to news list