Manchester's Silk City Coffee Opens Sister Shop In Willimantic

WILLIMANTIC/MANCHESTER — Silk City coffee has officially expanded eastward with a sister shop that opened two days ago in Downtown Willimantic.

The new digs are located at 869 Main St. — in the historic, circa 1831 Dr. William Witter House. Witter, was the first long-term resident physician of Willimantic. Silk City co-Owners Tammy Gerhard and Sarah May said they were approached by the owners of Grounded Coffee Co. to take over as they planned other ventures.

The rest — pardon the pun — was history.

Silk City's original shop is located at 763 Main St. in Manchester. Coffee freshly roasted at the Manchester processing facility will be delivered to the Willimantic shop, Gerhard said.

Parking is available on Main Street and at the garage behind the shop in Willimantic.

Gerhard said the decision to expand came with some sentimentality — she graduated from Willimantic-based Eastern Connecticut State University.

"The walk is seven minutes from my old dorm — Winthrop Hall," she said.

Tuesday was Silk City's soft opening in Willimantic. The official grand opening is to be staged at 10 a.m. on Oct. 21.

Silk City is also offering ever Eastern student a free coffee or drink through the ECSU Passport Program.

Coincidentally, on Tuesday, Gerhard and May were recipients of a grant that will allow them to purchase an espresso machine that brings the Willimantic shop into sync with the Manchester Shop.

They won the grant at Trinity College’s Mather Hall and the Women's Business Development Council’s inaugural Catalyst Symposium — a half-day event featuring networking, workshops, and a $100,000 live pitch competition that awarded four women-owned businesses with $25,000 WBDC Accelerate Grants.

The $25,000 was the exact cost of the machine, Gerhard said.

Each of the finalists had five minutes to demonstrate how the grant would advance their business. A panel of three judges decided the winners.

See more on Silk City Coffee here.