Home.stead: bakes, coffee and love for the Dorchester community

By Jacqueline Contreras

Home.stead Bakery and Café sits at the corner of Dorchester Avenue and Adams Street and is adorned by local art and chandeliers. There are flowers placed in the middle of the big communal table, that lies at the center of the shop, and the large windows lining the storefront allow for light to flood the room on a sunny day. Several people sit at tables engaging in light conversation with some coffee in between them. There is a variety of pastries and other food options on the menu, and of course, a slew of different coffee and tea drinks.

To Elisa Girard, opening a café like this one was just a childhood dream… until a few years ago.

In March of 2016, Elisa Girard and her husband Vivian Girard opened Home.stead alongside business partner and friend Jack Wu. Elisa and Vivian Girard met Wu volunteering at VietAID, a community organization in Dorchester, and eventually became friends.

“He started hanging out and he came for lunch and tried my food and really liked it,” Elisa Girard said, “He said maybe we should do something together because Jack really wanted to start a business, but didn’t really know what.”

Elisa Girard had 13 years of experience as a personal assistant and cook, but had never worked on the business side of things.

“When I was younger I kind of dreamed of having a café, but I thought it was just a dream,” said Elisa, “I didn’t think I would pursue it because it’s so much money and so much energy and I had no experience.”

The three figured they could place their individual skills together and open up a café. Elisa Girard also has an arts background, so she went on to work on the decorations and setting up a menu. Vivian Girard would work on restorations of the place and Wu would handle the finances.

The three visited the location that was up for sale and got excited about it.

“It kind of just fell into place,” Elisa Girard said.

All three of the founders live in Dorchester and are in close proximity to their shop. Elisa Girard says they wanted to open the café specifically for the community.

“There wasn’t any cafe like this in the neighborhood, and we could kind of sense a hunger for it,” she said.

The founders had a lot of support from the community from the beginning. The Girards and Wu were able to open their business in part because of a fundraiser they held. Their neighbors raised 30 thousand dollars for the café, according to Elisa Girard.

Even opening up the shop was a community effort. Many volunteers helped in the demolition process and later helped rebuild and paint the space.

Elisa Girard loves seeing the community enjoy each other. Home.stead hosts several events every month including game nights and storytelling nights.

“It’s just such a warm, joyous feeling when people are together and they’re all just laughing and clapping,” she said, “I love bringing people together like that.”

Elisa Girard’s goal is to have the café feel comfortable and welcome to everyone. She thinks the shop provides a good place for friends to meet and for artists to share their work.

Many of the events are run by people in the Dorchester neighborhood. Elisa Girard met the person who runs the storytelling events at a local art show, the open mic nights are run by two of her neighbors, and one of her staff members will DJ an upcoming LGBTQ+ event.

Though she does love the events that go on in her shop, her most favorite thing about the café is her staff, whom she considers family.

“Just because I don’t have kids, and I didn’t know that I would enjoy mentoring people that much… but I love being a positive influence on people, and I get to do that here,” she said.

“Things evolve all the time and I never know what’s around the corner,” she said, “That keeps things exciting.”

For more information, check Home.stead bakery & cafe Facebook page below: