Looking for a unique coffee and a book? Try this new Quincy café and community center

QUINCY − A group of 20-somethings disillusioned with corporate culture and a tech industry they say puts money and self-promotion first − and people a distant second − have poured their energy, skills and savings into a nonprofit community center and café in North Quincy.

Panethnic Pourovers on West Squantum Street celebrated its grand opening Oct. 21. Founder and Director Emily Goroza, who is a second-generation Filipino-American, said the café focuses on the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, but welcomes people of all backgrounds.

In addition to the café, the space includes a lending library and a community room for lectures, classes and other educational programs.

"For us, the café’s really cool, but that’s not our mission," Goroza said. "Our mission is to help people."

Panethnic Pourovers' narrow interior leads to a café counter in the rear. Both side walls of the former barbershop feature murals painted by local artists, each one representing the artist's Asian American and Pacific Islander culture. Shelves lining one of the walls hold books available to loan to members.

Panethnic Pourovers worked with Libraries for Liberation, which provides books free of charge to small neighborhood libraries across the country. Goroza said Panethnic Pourovers has books for all ages selected for their positive messages, educational value and accurate representations of history and various cultures.

As an example, Goroza mentioned Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States," which she described as American history told from the perspective of the oppressed.

Panethnic Pourovers will host a monthly book club featuring books about the LGBTQ and Asian American Pacific Islander communities. Its first book book will be "The Magic Fish" by Trung Le Nguyen, a semiautobiographical graphic novel about a second-generation Vietnamese American teenager.

In addition to the book club, the organization will offer free classes on a variety of topics. Goroza said a "tech academy" is already up and running. The classes, which are remote, give students the experience of working at a tech company. Six or seven teams, each mentored by an industry professional, work on a project for a period of 12 weeks.

Goroza said the program makes technology accessible to those without money for expensive classes. It has attracted people from different areas of the country and of different ages, with 18-year-olds collaborating with middle-aged people pursuing a career change.

Works by a featured artist will be highlighted every month at the café, Goroza said. Displayed near the café counter, a handsome set of pins and metal bookmarks with mythical designs are for sale. The artwork is by Chinese American artist Swanna Luo, who is based in Philadelphia.

Goroza said she is in a unique position to create a people-first community center like Panethnic Pourovers. She said she grew up in a poor family that reached the upper middle class. She then made a lot of money in tech at an early age, which she said allows her to take more risks than other people on a venture that will not pad anyone's bank account.

The tech industry also taught her that work in today's profit-driven corporate environment does not fulfill human needs for community, togetherness and a sense of social purpose, she said.

"I've been on both sides," she said. "I've earned a six-figure salary, but I have also not eaten for two days. I'd rather not eat for two days if I'm helping people."

With Panethnic Pourovers, Goroza and her team will be helping and feeding people. With money from donations, grants and revenues from the café, Panethnic Pourovers will run a pantry and a food fund for customers without money for refreshments. Customers can "pay forward" to subsidize items for fellow community members experiencing financial hardship, she said.

The only paid positions at Panethnic Pourovers are the café workers. The management board, program directors and class instructors are all unpaid volunteers. Goroza said the organization is non-hierarchical, with all paid workers holding the same rank and receiving the same pay. There is only a board because 501(c)(3) nonprofits are legally required to have one, she said.

Although the café is only an appetizer to the main course of educational nourishment, Panethnic Pourovers does offer items that can't be found elsewhere in the area, Goroza said.

The menu features Vietnamese coffees and a lot of ube, the purple sweet potato popular in the Philippines. In addition to ube lattes, there is an ube cheese pandesal, which is a kind of breakfast roll.

Customers can also sample siapao, a Filipino-style steamed bun with various fillings, and lumpia, a Filipino version of a spring roll, Goroza said.

Goroza said the food and drink is sourced from businesses that share Panethnic Pourover's values and ideals. For example, the Vietnamese coffee comes from Càphê Roasters, based in Philadelphia. Goroza said Càphê Roasters is Vietnamese-owned and takes steps to ensure that the agricultural workers in Southeast Asia who harvest their beans are treated humanely.

Panethnic Pourovers is at 186 West Squantum St. It will be open from Tuesday to Sunday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Patriot Ledger subscription. Here is our latest offer.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Panethnic Pourovers holds grand opening in North Quincy on Saturday