Big Dreams in Little Guatemala

Home to fewer than 17,000 residents and nestled in the foothills of western North Carolina, Morganton may seem like an unexpected place to find a thriving Guatemalan community, but Guatemalan immigrants make up much of the town's 19.2 percent Hispanic population. Morganton residents Christian and Erica Ramazzini noticed that, despite their close proximity, members of the Guatemalan and American communities do not always know how – or where – to find common ground. That's what they hope to provide with Little Guatemala.

"There are a lot of cultural boundaries here, so, unfortunately, not a lot of great relationships have been developed," Erica says. "[We want to] see new friendships form where there are currently some barriers, love our neighbors better, and get to know one another [by creating] a space that's comfortable for both of those cultures to come and find ways to interact."

Their family business is designed to bring a taste of Christian's home country to their corner of the United States, uniting both communities with hand-roasted coffee, authentic food, friendly soccer matches, and cultural celebration.

Morganton's Guatemalan Community

Many Guatemalans immigrated to the United States in the 1980s after the Central American country's civil war reached unprecedented levels of violence earlier in the decade. Morganton's Guatemalan population began growing a few years later, when a local chicken factory in search of a new workforce began bussing employees in from an immigrant community in Florida.

"The Guatemalan population that lives here in Morganton isn't just from all over Guatemala," Erica says. "They're really from a concentrated area in Huehuetenango, one of the departments – kind of like a state – in Guatemala, and even from a town in that state, Aguacatán. The majority of the Guatemalans that live here have come from that town."

After meeting in Guatemala and marrying in 2009, the Ramazzinis settled in Morganton to be closer to Erica's family. Knowing they would be close to a Guatemalan community was also an exciting aspect of their relocation.

"When we moved here, Christian hadn't lived anywhere but Guatemala," Erica says. "One of the first things he did was walk over to a park where they had pick-up soccer games going on, and right away, some Guatemalans reached out to him and invited him to play on a team, and he immediately was connected and felt welcomed."

But as they spent more time in Morganton, they noticed that other residents were unable to connect as easily with the Guatemalan population.

"It's a pretty large percentage of our town, but it is almost hidden because the Guatemalan community is very close-knit," Erica says. "They have good relationships within their own community and have found ways to manage without needing to interact too much with the community around them, and non-Guatemalans find it intimidating to break into such a close-knit circle."

Erica and Christian – who have both worked or volunteered for local organizations that assist the Hispanic community – found themselves in a unique position: acting as liaisons between the two cultures.

"We love both [communities] so much and our marriage is a bridge, so we're in both worlds already," Erica says. "We just really love the perspective that a new culture brings to someone... [The Guatemalan community] is a hidden treasure here in Morganton."

Little Guatemala's Humble Roots

Although the Ramazzini family's plans for Little Guatemala became more concrete when they purchased a downtown Morganton building, they have been entertaining different aspects of the business over the past several years.

"When I saw the building, a spark just lit up from years past that we have been dreaming about having a business with soccer," Christian says. "I used to be a barista back in Guatemala, and always wanted a coffee shop, too. [We realized] we could put all these businesses together and put it in one building."

In addition to Christian's experience as a barista, the coffee component of the business stems from their at-home, coffee-roasting hobby, which they first learned from an employee at a coffee plantation in Panama during a backpacking trip more than 10 years ago. They began selling Little Guatemala coffee online, at the Morganton Farmers Market, and at other local events in spring 2018, shortly before purchasing their building in June 2018.

"When we bought this building, we had very little experience doing this," Erica says. "What we didn't realize is that when you change the use of the building, you can't just make your own little changes. To get a permit, you have to have engineer-stamped blueprints. Waiting for the blueprints is one hurdle, but the other challenge in that is that the standards of the engineer-stamped blueprints are not just the things we were thinking. This pushed it up to a new level, which we're thankful for in the end, because it means the end product is going to be that much better – but it just meant more time and money, [and] we had to think about how to get funding for these projects along the way."

Christian and Erica have received a lot of support from their church community, including advice and guidance from those with experience in business, engineering, and construction. Like many first-time small business owners, the Ramazzinis have been patiently navigating the ups and downs of renovations; their progress has been slowed by the occasionally frustrating process of obtaining approvals for blueprints and permits.

"I have a desire to get things done, and I usually get a lot of stuff done really quickly, but this time I have to depend on a lot of people," Christian says. "I had to overcome my impatience, because I have to be very patient and wait for others to do a lot of work and it's totally out of my hands. I had to wait for blueprints, and we had to change our architect."

Since securing a different architect – whom they met through their coffee business – and deciding that it was time for Christian to focus on the business full-time, the Ramazzinis are hoping to open Little Guatemala in Fall 2019.

Visiting Little Guatemala

When the building's renovations are complete and the Ramazzinis are finally able to welcome visitors to Little Guatemala, anyone can walk in and enjoy the sights, sounds, and tastes of the Guatemalan culture that Christian and many other Morganton residents grew up enjoying.

"We will have a coffee and chocolate roastery that will look like a small museum," Christian says. "We will make chocolate and we will make coffee for wholesale to sell to people, but at the same time we will be able to bring small groups of people to teach them and let them learn the process of coffee or making chocolate from the raw cocoa. We're hoping to have a space [for] tournaments, soccer camps, [and] 5-versus-5 teams, because it is a really small indoor soccer complex."

Visitors will also be able to buy art, bags, embroidery, and other goods produced by members of the community.

"One way we want to incorporate the Guatemalan community in this endeavor is that we want them to be the ones who are actually involved in the making and selling of the art and food," Erica says. "They will be the ones bringing in the materials to sell, so not only can you purchase something that's beautiful and unique, but you can see that vendor's picture. You might run into them in town somewhere, and you'll have that connection."

In addition to coffee, chocolate, soccer, and artisan goods, Little Guatemala will be equipped with a kitchen and individual food stalls, making the rich culinary traditions of Guatemala an experience that can be easily shared.

"We'll have the certified kitchen there to meet with regulations and make sure everything is done safely, but the local Guatemalans [with] really wonderful cooking skills [can] make [and] sell their food there," Erica says. "When someone goes into the building, we want it to be like they're experiencing walking onto the street of Guatemala. They can browse the food options and get to know the people that are making and selling the food, and it's another way to connect with the Guatemalan community around here."

Whether they bond over coffee, soccer, or one of the many other delights Little Guatemala has to offer, the Ramazzinis hope their building will be a place where members of the community can build new relationships and cultivate a deeper understanding of each other's cultures.

Little Guatemala will be located at 810 East Union Street, Morganton, N.C. Until the multipurpose building opens later this year, you can purchase coffee from Little Guatemala's online shop or follow the Ramazzini family's renovation updates.