Coffee addiction brews cafe

DREAM COME TRUE: A love of coffee led Gerardo Reyes to fulfill his dream of opening his own coffee shop. Named after an African dialect word that means "love," he hopes Chikondi Café brings as much joy to others as it does him. / PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO
DREAM COME TRUE: A love of coffee led Gerardo Reyes to fulfill his dream of opening his own coffee shop. Named after an African dialect word that means "love," he hopes Chikondi Café brings as much joy to others as it does him. / PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Gerardo Reyes loves coffee. “Everything started with loving coffee – I’m addicted,” said the owner of Chikondi Café on Dexter Street in Central Falls.

A Guatemalan native, Reyes moved to Providence when he was 20. For the past 12 years he has worked as a jewelry polisher, a house painter and a freelance photographer.

Every time he took a photograph, he said his first thought was how it would look framed on the wall of his coffee shop, one day.

Last September, Reyes’ dream came true when construction began on the cafe. Named after an African dialect word that means “love,” Reyes hopes his coffee brings as much joy to others as it does him.

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Reyes’ goal is to open five coffee shops by the time he’s 40, but worries how he will afford the locations: “It’s … a lot of responsibility and I haven’t been the most responsible guy when it comes to money and saving, but this has been a great experience, so far.” •

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