Three Chico Sarahs Brewing Their Own Paths in Business & Community.

There is no single path to building a meaningful business. In Chico, three women named Sarah have each created a distinctive place to drink, eat and connect: Sarah Goings of Sweet Bean Coffee House, Sarah Adams of Chico Chai and Sarah Fragoso of Gather Coffee House and Supper Club. Their journeys grew from their passions and different life experiences, united by a willingness to bring their visions to life.

A Leap of Faith: Sweet Bean Coffee House

Owning a coffee shop had long been a dream for Sarah Goings, who now co-owns Sweet Bean with her husband. A semester studying abroad in Italy deepened her love of coffee. Still, they joked that opening a shop would require a million dollars and might have to be a retirement dream.

Growing up watching her mother operate businesses for 30 years made entrepreneurship feel possible. When a space designed for a coffee shop became available in north Chico, Sarah and her husband took a leap of faith. “It was the opportunity we didn’t know we were looking for,” Sarah recalls. Sarah initially worried the location might not attract enough traffic. But on the Friday morning of our meeting, Sweet Bean buzzed with conversation as women with small children, seniors and friends gathered around tables.

Customers can settle in, indoors or outside, or use the drive-through for locally roasted coffee, house-made bagel sandwiches and breakfast burritos, and locally sourced or house-made pastries. Artwork by a local artist adds to the welcoming neighborhood feel that has developed around the coffee shop.

Outside, Sarah held her wiggly 5-month-old son, Granger. Raising three children under six while running a business is both her “biggest hurdle” and “biggest blessing.” Perfect balance never truly arrives, she says, but the flexibility allows her to be present for her children while helping support her family. The experience proved their old joke wrong. “We definitely did not have to be millionaires,” Sarah acknowledges with a laugh. Her advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is to start small, take it one step at a time and trust that a dream may be more within reach than it seems.

From Fresh Chai to a Gathering Place: Chico Chai

For Sarah Adams, Chico Chai grew from a lifelong love of tea and plants. After discovering chai as a young adult, she learned the basic method for making this delicious drink from a local chai maker and began experimenting with tea and spices.

A career as a wildlife biologist eventually left little time to make chai, yet she could not find the kind she loved locally. Sarah found herself wondering, “What if my life were making chai?” She decided to find out. Drawing on her scientific background, Sarah filled Mason jars with different versions and asked friends to sample them. Their feedback helped shape the recipe that became Chico Chai.

With help from friends, family and the community, Chico Chai grew from a commercial kitchen and farmers markets into a wholesale business serving cafes throughout the region.

Sarah had imagined opening a tea house for years, but COVID halted her first attempt, eventually making room for something better: a building large enough for both production and the Chico Chai House.

When I met Sarah on a weekday afternoon, the nearly full tea house felt lively but unhurried. Accessible pathways, lower counters and a children’s corner reflect her vision for an inclusive space. As Sarah described those choices, a customer in a wheelchair entered – a simple moment showing that vision in action. Free skill-sharing workshops, community groups and exhibits by local artists further bring that vision to life. Chico’s community helped Chico Chai take root, and Chico Chai now offers that community a place to come together and grow.

Raising the Bar: Gather Coffee House and Supper Club

Sarah Fragoso grew up cooking beside her mother, who milled wheat, baked bread and prepared nearly everything from scratch. “I don’t have a memory of not cooking,” Sarah says. That passion remained constant as Sarah raised her family and followed a winding path through fitness and nutrition, cookbook writing and other business ventures. She built toward her restaurant dream through intimate supper club dinners throughout Chico, honing her craft and eventually attracting a waiting list of hundreds.

Knowing the demands of running a restaurant, Sarah waited until her kids graduated from high school. By then, she had spent years refining her vision and building a community around her food. Gather became its culmination. “If I’m going to do this, I will do it with my whole heart and my whole soul,” Sarah says.

Every aspect of Gather reflects that intention, from thoughtfully sourced ingredients to food made from scratch. Produce comes from local farms, proteins are carefully sourced and even syrups and dressings are made in-house, reflecting Sarah’s commitment to knowing what goes into the food she serves.

For Sarah, nourishment extends beyond the plate. She describes nourishing food as “a spiritual connection” but says it is also about “the relationships that you’re building” – knowing the farmers who grow her ingredients, remembering customers’ names, making eye contact and considering what someone might be going through when they walk through the door.

Local farmers, artists and makers contribute what they create; employees bring their knowledge and talents; and customers are nourished through both food and experience. Together, that synergy creates something uniquely Gather. That connection extends throughout the space, with tables, artwork, floral arrangements, food and other products created or supplied by locals. Perhaps Sarah sums it up best: “The whole place is Chico.”

Three Paths, Shared Community

The three Sarahs remind us that entrepreneurship does not follow a single formula. Each brings her own passions and experiences, contributing a distinct thread to the vibrant, interconnected tapestry of stories, relationships and gathering places that make Chico Chico. Their stories invite us not only to explore the places their passions created but to imagine what might become possible if we were willing to take a chance on a passion of our own.

Sweet Bean Coffee House
3010 Floral Avenue, Suite 135, Chico
530.965.5039
sweetbeanchico.com

Chico Chai
1441 Park Avenue, Chico
530.897.0822
chicochai.com

Gather Coffee House and Supper Club

196 Cohasset Road, Suite 150, Chico

530.399.0167

gatherchico.com