From Amherst Teacher to Frozen Yogurt Entrepreneur

The sister store to Amherst’s popular GoBerry ’n Cream frozen yogurt shop held a grand opening in Northampton on August 8 with Mayor Gina Louise Sciarra cutting the ribbon. A sizable and enthusiastic gathering joined the mayor in celebrating the return of GoBerry to Northampton. The original Northampton store closed in 2020 during the pandemic.

The new GoBerry is located at 207 Main Street, directly across from City Hall and is owned by former Amherst Regional High School (ARHS) teacher Aaron Buford, who partnered with retired Springfield teacher SiriNam Khalsa, the owner of the Amherst GoBerry, to bring the Northampton business back on line. Buford directed the Restorative Justice (RJ) Program at ARHS from 2021 until 2024, when the district discontinued the program and laid him off. Prior to his work at ARHS, Buford taught psychology and history for 11 years at Springfield Central High School, where he met Khalsa, who was also a teacher there. Buford is a 2004 graduate of ARHS and a 2009 graduate of UMass Amherst. He began working as a teacher in Springfield immediately after graduating from UMass. 

During his years at Central, Buford and Khalsa became good friends, and when Buford received his pink slip from ARHS, Khalsa, who had opened a few local businesses following 30 years of teaching, suggested that Buford look into reopening the shop in Northampton. Khalsa’s daughter Ananda, who owns Ananda Khalsa Jewelry in Northampton, also encouraged Buford, telling him that GoBerry had a loyal following in Northampton and its return would be welcomed.

By October of 2024 Buford decided to take the plunge into entrepreneurship, and Khalsa guided him through the process. Buford signed a lease for the new location in January and spent most of the spring navigating permitting and preparing a space that had previously been a bank branch office to accommodate food service. Today Khalsa, who is a minority owner of the Northampton shop, advises Buford on the mechanics of the business, helps in the training of new employees, and takes an occasional shift at the Northampton store.

The early weeks since the store’s soft opening on June 29 have been encouraging, with the cozy shop frequently crowded and with many customers offering appreciation for GoBerry’s return. Buford said that opening the business has been exciting.

“Things are going incredibly well,” he said. “Customers are telling me all the time how happy they are that we are back. And we’ve been really busy. I’m excited and grateful for the strong start. We’re offering something that people are looking for — a high quality, healthy product, in a community oriented business.” 

Buford emphasized that everything at GoBerry is made fresh daily from scratch with no pre-packaged ingredients, and he praised the business’s’ local partnerships, with fresh, non-fat yogurt coming from Sidehill Farm in Hawley, milk from Mapleline Farm in Hadley, and ice cream from Bart’s (which has a long Amherst heritage) in Greenfield.

He said, “What I love about our offerings is they are small batch, super fresh, and thoughtfully prepared. When I bring my kids, they can really tell the difference in taste and texture. The culture and life of this place feels right for the community we’re operating in — it’s a sweet place, combining great frozen yogurt and a welcoming atmosphere” (from Northampton.live).

From Teacher to Entrepreneur
Asked about his transition from teacher to businessman, Buford said, “I feel really positive about making the shift to entrepreneurship, taking up that challenge, and making a new kind of contribution to the community. I’m excited about the prospect of building something and of creating a vibrant, community-oriented space.”

He added, “I feel good about what we built at ARHS and am sad that it is not continuing. I feel like RJ [the Restorative Justice program] played such an important role for the district. I felt appreciated by my colleagues and my students, and I think that people who experienced our work saw the value in it.  My kids go to the school or will be going — it felt hard to walk away, knowing that this alternative for dealing with conflict and discipline in a new way was being cut. That part was hard and speaks to the larger budget crisis that the schools are now experiencing that has led to the disinvestment in DEI work and disinvestment in emotional support work for both students and staff. That part was hard because I really loved the job and felt honored for the opportunity to do that kind of work. But I’m not done with education.”

Buford will be teaching two courses at Holyoke Community College this fall in their Gateway to College program.

Hours and Offerings
GoBerry Northampton is open Monday through Wednesday 4–9 p.m., Thursday through Saturday, 1 p.m -–0 p.m., and Sundays 1–9 p.m. Buford indicated that he would explore extended hours for evenings when there are events at the Academy of Music.

GoBerry offers four flavors of frozen yogurt along with two dozen toppings, with original (plain) always on tap and three other flavors changing every two weeks. Flavor offerings are the same at both the Amherst and Northampton stores, and are listed on GoBerry’s Instagram and GoBerry web sites the Friday before the change. Flavors for this week are original, mocha, apricot, and vanilla. GoBerry also offers four flavors of Bart’s ice cream (vanilla, chocolate, coffee, and maple cream) with the possibility of two more flavors coming soon.