PITTSFIELD — Since she was a teenager working in catering, Karli Cassavant has dreamed of opening her own restaurant.

Even as she passed through a variety of jobs in adulthood, including stints in human resources and the medical field, she always hoped to someday return to culinary work full-time.

This year, she said, “I decided to rip the Band-Aid off.”

On June 3, Cassavant opened GourMay Cafe at 1575 West Housatonic St. In addition to coffee and smoothies, the cafe also serves paninis, salads, grinders, bagels and pastries.

GourMay Cafe was formerly a Subway and then a fried chicken restaurant before it was remodeled and opened at 1575 West Housatonic St. in Pittsfield earlier this month.

Raised in Richmond, Cassavant attended Taconic High School and now lives in Pittsfield. She said she hopes GourMay Cafe will provide customers with healthy food and drinks at a fair price, especially since restaurants are more scarce on the city’s western outskirts.

“Being able to give people a fresh and affordable option I felt was really needed, especially on this side of town,” she said.

GourMay Cafe is currently open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Wednesday through Friday, and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. Cassavant said the cafe may also open for more days in the future.

GourMay Cafe opened at 1575 West Housatonic St. in Pittsfield earlier this month.

In addition to standard breakfast and lunch fare, Cassavant hopes to introduce special menu items depending on the season. The current drink special is the “iced fluffernutter,” a cold brew coffee dressed up with marshmallow fluff, almond butter and peanut butter syrup to resemble the beloved New England sandwich.

All of the cafe’s flavored syrups are made in-house, Cassavant said. The goal, she said, is to keep ingredient sourcing as local as possible — both to support other small businesses and to cut down on costs.

She also crafted the menu to be accessible to people with different allergies and medical needs, including items like decaf iced coffee and gluten-free desserts and bread.

“Anyone that walks in the door, we want to be able to provide an option,” she said.

She had been eyeing the storefront for some time, until “all the stars aligned” earlier this year and it seemed feasible to move in. The location had previously been home to a Crown Fried Chicken and Grill, and before that, a Subway. Now, it’s a cozy coffee shop with plenty of indoor seating.

The response, Cassavant said, has been overwhelmingly positive so far. So many customers came in on opening week that the restaurant ran out of lunch meat on the second day. Amid the chaos of starting a new business, Cassavant said she hasn’t had much time to take it all in. But sometimes, she has a moment of realization.

GourMay Cafe, formerly a Subway and then a fried chicken restaurant, was remodeled before it opened at 1575 West Housatonic St. in Pittsfield earlier this month.

“Every now and then I get a glimmer of 'oh my God, this is mine,’” she said.

As the restaurant gets more established, Cassavant said she hopes to expand the menu to include grab-and-go dinners and picnic meals, as well as charcuterie boards. There are currently seven staff members working at the restaurant, including two recent graduates of Taconic’s culinary arts program.

“I’ve always liked cooking and I’ve always liked feeding people,” Cassavant said. “It’s that thing that brings everyone together.”