Page 21 - BusinessWest March 7, 2022
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 Jordan Hart, executive director of the Greater Holyoke Chamber, says the pandemic has helped create a surge of entrepreneurship in the city and a number of new businesses.
born in Puerto Rico, grew up in Holyoke and then Amherst, and moved to New York City as an adult. “And you would have to be a risk taker to take this on.”
Those sentiments reflected more than the condition of the Queen Anne Victorian; they also referenced the time of this acquisition (2009, the
height of the Great Reces- sion) and the seemingly long odds against creating a suc- cessful B&B in downtown Holyoke.
But Candelario was
able to look past the chal- lenges and the doubters
and see opportunity. It’s taken a while for the vision to become reality, and the pandemic has certainly put more hurdles in front of
him — he admits to com- ing close to packing it in and moving on to something else — but Candelario, like many business owners in Holyoke, has persevered.
As he gave Business- West a tour and pointed out rooms bearing the names of places he’s visited in and lived in — ‘Brazil,’ ‘New York,’ ‘Puerto Rico,’
and ‘Holyoke,’ among others — Candelario said business has been steady if unspectacular, with guests ranging from traveling nurses, to execu- tives for Coca Cola, to “emergencies” in the form of needed beds for those being helped by the nonprofits Roca Holyoke and Women’s Shel-
ter Companeras, now Alianza. Over the years, though, he’s been able to draw guests visiting area colleges, individuals in town on business, and those attending the St. Patrick’s Day parade and road race. His audience is those who want something different than the run-of-the-mill
hotel room.
Shut down for the better part of a year by the
pandemic starting in March, 2020, he said he’s been able to keep his dream alive by diversifying and expanding his operation into catering and the hosting of events ranging from baby showers to family reunions to nonprofit retreats.
While reflecting on his business and where he can take it, Candelario also ruminated on Holy- oke, its present and its future. And he drew many comparisons to the Bronx, another diverse com- munity he believes is also misunderstood and underappreciated. He lived there for some time, and was originally planning to open a B&B near Yankee Stadium until the economic downturn in 2008 scuttled those plans.
“The Bronx and Holyoke have a lot in com- mon,” he said. “It’s the inner city, working class, different cultures; they’re melting pots that many people just don’t appreciate for all that they are.”
Beyond these qualities, the city boasts loca- tion and affordability, two important factors in these changing times.
“Holyoke is very affordable for those people who are starting off,” he explained. “They can get better housing for the buck. And if you want to work in Northampton, it’s 10 to 15 minutes away; Springfield is 10 to 15 minutes away; Agawam is 10-15 minutes away.
“I see Holyoke as a very progressive, very upwardly mobile city,” he went on. “You have people from many different areas coming here, not just locally, but from around the country. I run into people from Chicago who moved here,
Holyoke
Continued on page 53
     FOR SALE +_ 78,378 SF Corporate Conference Center 350 Memorial Drive, Chicopee, MA
$8,300,000
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±78,378 SF Corporate Conference Center
  350 Memorial Drive, Chicopee, MA | $8,300,000
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 1350 Main Street, Suite 1410 I Springfield, MA 01103 I 413-781-8000 I NAIPlotkin.com Springfield, MA 01103
1350 Main Street, Suite 1410
 BusinessWest
COMMUITY SPOTLIGHT
MARCH 7, 2022 21
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NAIPlotkin.com
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