Christopher’s, in Fall River, Mass., does more for the community than serving meals.
The cafe, which is owned by the husband-and-husband team Christopher and Nathan Silvia, is known in the city for giving back. Christopher’s has organized cleanups on empty lots and set up a community fund for people who can’t afford a meal.
The cafe also runs a free farmers market on weekend mornings from their storefront.
“No questions asked,” Nathan Silvia said. “If we can offer some herbs or some vegetables or a free sandwich or something if they need it … it makes it all worth it.”
Revitalizing the neighborhood
In 2023, Nathan was unhappy with his job in the edibles department of a cannabis company. At the same time, his friend Christopher was opening a cafe.
“So, I’m like, why don’t I quit, come on, and we’ll work together? And it kind of just blossomed from there,” Nathan said.
A few months later, they opened the cafe and got married. “When you know, and it’s meant to be, it’s an easy decision,” he said.
Their cafe on South Main Street has also blossomed.
The breezy, flower-filled space feels like it was transported from a little village in the French countryside. Fresh herbs, antique furniture and cookbooks fill the restaurant. Window boxes explode with geraniums.
“People come in and actually think we’re a florist,” Nathan said.
The menu, which changes daily, leans French bistro. “It’s whatever Chris wants to make.” Some highlights include a lobster BLT and baked goods like almond croissants or a cherry almond danish. One recent salad was topped with fresh fruit in a literal rainbow.
But before the cafe moved in, the space was not always so cheery. It had been a hot dog place, a church and a convenience store, Nathan said.
Like so many former mill towns, Fall River still struggles economically decades after the textile industry went bust.
Sportswriter Bill Reynolds (whose book Fall River Dreams chronicled one high school basketball season) was raised 15 miles away. Growing up, he wrote, “Fall River was, quite simply, a euphemism for the end of the world.”
“I think a lot of the reputation is homelessness and drugs … and yeah, a lot of, I guess, growing up there was always a stigma that it was the bad city,” Nathan said. People can decide to focus on the bad or the good, but he and his husband “try to focus on the good and just try to make the neighborhood better.”
And Nathan said that effort to build a cleaner, kinder, healthier community is contagious.
“The tattoo shop [down the street], they have put a trash barrel outside,” he said. “There’s a barbershop, they have plants outside. [The owners said] we noticed what you did and now we just want to help create a more beautiful community.”
James Underwood, 25, was dining at Christopher’s for the first time recently after reading about the cafe online.
“They’re always doing [something], like helping out the community with food drives and coat drives and stuff like that,” Underwood said.
Underwood called it “good guerrilla marketing” and also something Fall River needs. It’s like a “shining light.”
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Transcript:
ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
Now we have another story in our series Here To Help. Today’s installment is about a restaurant that’s doing more for the community than just serving meals. In 2023, Nathan Silvia was unhappy with his job in the edibles department of a cannabis company. At the same time, his friend Christopher was opening a cafe.
NATHAN SILVIA: So I’m like, why don’t I quit, come on, and we’ll work together? And it kind of just blossomed from there. Probably about three, 3 1/2 months maybe after we opened, we got married. When you know, and it’s meant to be, it’s easy decision.
SHAPIRO: Their cafe on South Main Street in Fall River, Massachusetts, has also blossomed. With Christopher Silvia in the kitchen and Nathan front-of-house, the small bistro serves a new menu daily – cannabis-free.
SILVIA: Either our lobster BLT or our lobster grilled cheese…
Or a cake, or our pistachio cake…
Or his baked ziti.
Almond croissants, chocolate croissants…
Or cherry almond danish.
SHAPIRO: The cafe itself pops with flowers bursting out of window boxes.
SILVIA: Some people come in and actually think we’re a florist.
SHAPIRO: But before the cafe moved in, the space was not always so cheery.
SILVIA: It had been a hot dog place, a church, like, a little convenience store. It was, I believe, a storage space for auto parts or old Dunkin’ Donuts, refurbished parts.
SHAPIRO: Like so many former mill towns, Fall River still struggles economically decades after the textile industry went bust.
SILVIA: Many people compare it to nothing like they’ve seen in Fall River ’cause the stigma is, oh, it’s a bad place. Every city has its good and its bad. We’re just trying to make the spot that we have the best it can be.
SHAPIRO: And Nathan says that effort to build a cleaner, kinder, healthier community is contagious.
SILVIA: The tattoo shop, they have put a trash barrel outside. They’ve painted it their colors. There’s a barber shop across the street here. They have plants outside. They put holiday lights up, as well. It’s, hey, you know, we noticed what you did, and we just want to, you know, help create a more beautiful community.
SHAPIRO: Christopher’s Cafe has organized clean-ups on empty lots, they have a community fund for those who can’t afford a meal, and they’ve even run a free farmers market on weekend mornings from their storefront.
SILVIA: No questions asked. You know, we just, you know, try to keep it down to one bag per family. And if there’s nothing outside, people will come in and say, is there anything left? And we’re like, no, unfortunately, it’s all gone. And it’s like, but can we give you something? We also have a herb garden outside, so if anybody needs fresh herbs, we have clippers, and we’ll say, take as much as you want. If you need a bag, we’ll give you a bag. I mean, why not? If we can offer some herbs or some vegetables or a free sandwich or something if they need it, and it makes it all worth it.
SHAPIRO: That’s Nathan Silvia, who runs Christopher’s Cafe in Fall River, Massachusetts, with his husband, Christopher. You can hear more stories like this at npr.org/heretohelp.
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