Mobile tea room experience to pinball service: Here's new businesses set for 2024.

NEW BEDFORD – EforAll had their Summer 2023 graduation ceremony on Oct. 24 featuring several new aspiring business owners set to open their new ventures in the New Bedford and Fall River area.

Businesses in the works include a laundromat aiming to make customers feel at home, a mobile tea room experience, a natural dyeing service and textile brand, a pinball restoration service, the first Latino-owned event venue in New Bedford and a multimedia artist opening her shop at Kilburn Mill in January 2024.

From Fall River to New Bedford, these new businesses are either already in motion or are preparing to be open within the next year. Here’s what you can expect to see in the near future.

Just Like Home

Eyeing a space in the Fall River area, Just Like Home’s vision is for a unique laundromat that aims to make customers feel like they are at home. They plan to have family-friendly activities, an area for kids, space for local artists and musicians to showcase their work, a cafe for quick bites and meeting neighbors and a convenient trunk-to-trunk service for customers.

"I want to give people a place where they can feel at home, our goal is to bring a sense of community back and make the mundane task of laundry feel more like a homey experience,” said LeAnne Raposo, owner of Just Like Home.

Milward Tea Room Catering

With the plan to open a brick and mortar tea room in the New Bedford area, after working with mentors in the EforAll program, owner Julie Lizotte was convinced to start with pop ups and catering to bring her tea parties directly to the customer.

“I am a tea aficionado,” Lizotte said, adding that she already has two events planned at the Rotch-Jones-Duff House.

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Milward Tea Room Catering uses Lizotte’s grandmother's tea cups and silver service to create an authentic afternoon tea experience. One of the experiences features a special type of tea that has been made in the 1500s and aged like wine. It has a meditative process of drinking one cup each day.

“This tea experience is catching on and can be a fun alternative to alcohol,” Lizotte added.

The Pampered Princess

Working on opening a space in Fall River or New Bedford, Pampered Princess hosts spa parties and events for kids.

"I want to promote body positivity and empowerment for young girls by creating a fun and welcoming space where they can enjoy events catered to them, and even meet their favorite characters,” owner DeAnn Gyukeri said.

“My goal is to make every child that walks through our doors feel like a pampered princess."

KiMade

Opening in Kilburn Mill in January 2024, owner Kim Johnson is a multimedia artist who creates various products such as wood and metal items, candles and soaps. They use epoxy and wood to make charcuterie boards and tables and are targeting customers who are looking for gift options.

“My customers are basically people that are buying gifts either for themselves or for others,” Johnson said.

She also wants to expand into the real estate market and supply gifts for realtors to give to clients. The artist recently purchased a laser machine to customize and personalize items, too.

Falling Off Trees

Falling Off Trees is a natural dyeing service and textile brand where they use local plants and kitchen scraps to create custom-colored clothing. The businesses also teach workshops.

"My real goal is to use what is normally considered waste, such as kitchen scraps and flower petals, to create beautiful natural dyes,” owner Korie Ellis said.

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With a die garden in their front yard, Ellis said she currently works out of their basement but eventually would like to upgrade their space and launch more naturally dyed goods on their website.

“It's a labor of love and I want to continue to build and expand my brand to offer more small, naturally dyed goods for people to purchase,” Ellis added.

La Sala

Hoping to find a personal event space in New Bedford, such as close to the Purchase Street area or the South End, is La Sala, with a focus on providing a personalized and culturally diverse party experience for families, specifically targeting the Latino community.

“I don't think there's actually any Latino-owned event venues. So we will be the first,” said owner Bibiana De Jesus Pacheco.

Pinball Services

Owner Chris Cardaci is offering services for buying, selling, and trading pinball machines across the South Coast area.

Cardaci recently started offering repair and restoration services, too, and are working on obtaining an operator's license and adding rental services in the future.

"I've been doing that for a solid year now, just constantly growing it, making it work,” Cardaci said. “I'm actually looking at doing a location in Providence for one game out there and then will hopefully lead to more.”

9th Garden

Owner Bazel Baez is part of a Latino-owned cannabis product manufacturing company that is seeking licensure and partnerships. They are working to find investors and access grants, and have been developing their organization and materials for potential presentations.

"Though we have a long way to go, we are happy to be here and open to any location that works best for us," Baez said.

Additional new businesses at the showcase included the Catherine Carter Art School, GreenTree Yoga and Wellness and Halkus Moving and Cleaning.

Standard-Times staff writer Seth Chitwood can be reached at schitwood@s-t.com. Follow him on Twitter: @ChitwoodReports. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Standard-Times today.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: EforAll business showcase: pinball restoration to princess venue