“Why are there so many people here?” an insistent 3-year-old Giacomo Baiamonte asked as he looked over a crowd squeezing into a corner of the Stilly Valley Collective. With that welcome, the mop-haired boy’s parents, Antonio and Kiersten, declared the grand opening of Caffe Italiano March 1, the newest barista stop brewing a little Italian coffee culture downtown.
The Baiamontes already operate their travel business, Bio-Monte tours of Italy, from an office inside the building at 103 E. 3rd St. The building has gained a second life as a co-working space for about a dozen small businesses and headquarters for the Stilly Valley Chamber of Commerce.
