A Touch of Heaven in a Busy Season

This is the busy season for a Touch of Heaven, the time for First Communions and Confirmations that brings customers into the Lemoine Avenue Christian store for books and gifts.

“To us it’s busier than Christmas because we sell a lot of prayer books and rosaries for children who are making their First Holy Communion,” said Emily Carfagna, who owns the store with her husband, Aldo.

They say the store sees triple its regular business during the spring, because they’ve accumulated a diverse inventory that makes for good gifts within a flexible price range.

The couple opened A Touch of Heaven as a Christian bookstore 15 years ago, but as their customer base grew they began carrying music, videos, jewelry and statues. Patrons would make special orders, and the Carfagnas would stock their requests, the store growing with the personalities of its clientele.

“It’s really grown. When I look at pictures from when we first started, the walls were bare,” Emily says. “We started out with nothing, and most of our inventory is accumulated because people order things special.”

There have been a lot of changes in the decade and a half since the store open, but the Emily Carfagna says that, despite challenges along the way and adaptations to changing tastes, the core of the business has never changed.

"I don't sell something because it makes money. I sell it because I want to get the word of God out there," she said. "Lots of places take care of people's physical health. We're here to serve their spiritual health."