The smell of freshly-baked breads and coffee are the first things you may notice when entering the Coffee Connection, but what people may feel next is the welcoming tone set by the owner.
With her Boston accent and pleasant nature, Geri Barnes is no stranger to hard work, patience and devotion when it comes to brewing up coffee in her downtown shop or at home with her eight out of ten children.
Originally from Boston and then spending 20 years in San Diego, Barnes has seen her share of changes, and coming to Norwich she agrees was one of the best she could have ever made.
In San Diego, Barnes was a foster and adoptive parent trainer and co-founded the North San Diego County Foster and Adoptive Parent Association.
“Actually it started in my living room with four other couples, but we served over 170 families,” said Barnes.
The advocacy group would give support to families and help set up social groups, and later on Barnes helped to co-found a retail store designed to cater to the community but especially foster and adoptive families. She says these things were hard to leave, and they are both still active today.
During her 20 years in San Diego, Geri and her husband Fred adopted nine of their 10 children.
“We wanted more children, and for us, it was a way to have the big family we always wanted,” Barnes said.
Four years ago while searching the Internet, Barnes and her husband came across Norwich. She said she liked the way it looked and shortly after sent her husband on a trip. Fred came upstate in search of something better for his family. He traveled the roads to South New Berlin, Cobleskill and Preston. After numerous calls and walking the land, Barnes says her husband was convinced Norwich had a lot to offer their family.
In San Diego her children, being of mixed races, faced racial discrimination at times, and the area did not offer the safety Fred saw here. Barnes says she recalls a phone call from her husband saying he had just seen two children of different races playing together and that right there made a big difference about coming to the area. Barnes says she wanted her kids to feel accepted and welcomed where they moved, and Chenango County was a great place for that.
Just six weeks after purchasing what Barnes calls a rambling old farmhouse in Preston, she along with her eight kids in tow and her husband driving along behind her, she made the trip to upstate New York. She said her children did not have any qualms about the move, as the family had always like to travel before, and the kids were always up for something new and exciting.
Two years after coming to New York, Barnes and her brother in Boston bought a building with storefronts in downtown Norwich. They rented them out to people she said did wonderful remodeling work and made the building look great. Last May when the storefront was available, Barnes decided to try her hand at a coffee shop.
“It is something I had always wanted to do,” Barnes said.
In what is now called The Coffee Connection, Barnes says she offers a lot more to the community than great treats and various drinks. She offers a full line of cafe items with a highly skilled staff known as Baristas – meaning they know the ins and outs of each drink they make.
Barnes also opens her doors for open mic, various gatherings in her meeting room, a completely wireless building for online needs, books to relax with and a great atmosphere she says to just come in and enjoy, poetry jams and more. She also supports various artists by showcasing their work throughout her shop. She says people really can feel comfortable here.
“I even have my own personal mug here,” said Vince Granata, a regular.
The Coffee Connection is open Monday through Friday 7 a.m., to 5 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m., to 4 p.m., and she says they may extend their hours through Sunday for special events.