Coffee Connection at Virginia's Cafe in Reading

About Virginia's Café & Market

Meet Jake Chaves, the heart behind our café, and his wife Alison.

Opening this space has been a dream in the making. From a young age, Jake knew he wanted to create a café that shared a piece of his family’s story. His grandparents were born and raised in the Azores, the beautiful islands off the coast of Portugal. They later moved to America in hopes of new opportunities and a better life.

Jake grew up in a home filled with laughter, family, and lots of delicious traditional Portuguese food. His grandmothers (or Vavós in Portuguese) taught him how to bake all the classic treats and showed him the importance of sharing their culture with others. Those moments inspired his dream of building a space where people could experience that same warmth.

Now, he is bringing that dream to life one pastry, cup of coffee, and shared tradition at a time.

Virginia’s was named after Jake’s great-grandmother, Virginia Simas, lovingly known to him as Vozinha.

Born in 1922 in São Miguel, Azores, Virginia immigrated to Cambridge in 1958. She was fiercely independent, endlessly warm, and a selfless pillar of her community. For decades, and well into her 90s, she led the Saint Anthony Parish kitchen for every church feast. She was especially known for her Portuguese sweet bread (massa sovada), her contagious smile, and her compassionate leadership.

Jake spent much of his childhood by her side, watching her bake countless loaves of massa for family and friends, and for sale at a local Portuguese store in Cambridge. As he grew older, he became her trusted helper, learning her cherished recipe firsthand as they baked together.

When Virginia passed away in 2018, Jake knew that one day his café would carry her name, and her legacy. We are honored to celebrate her life, her generosity, and the sweetness she shared so freely with others.