Denise Kapulka-Cariglia bio box
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2024 Outstanding Women in Business
Outstanding Women in Business: Kapulka-Cariglia is a driving force behind multiple small businesses
Photo | Matt Wright
Denise Kapulka-Cariglia, co-owner of Simply Delicious Catering and Elms Cafe, and sales consultant at Knight's Airport Limosine
By T.J. Gaudet
Denise Kapulka-Cariglia doesn’t have an off switch. The culinary events planner and marketing professional pushes away her plate full of work commitments and volunteer activities on occasion, but the co-owner of Simply Delicious Catering and Elms Cafe – and longtime sales manager for Knight’s Airport Limousine Service – always comes back to the table.
“I don’t sleep,” deadpanned Kapulka-Cariglia when asked how she manages the hectic schedule. “I’m literally up at 3:30 a.m., and by the time I go back to bed, it’s after 10. It’s hard. For a little while I stepped back from the volunteer work, but I ended up going back because I love it. I love giving back to the community. It just feels good.”
One of her most satisfying role is co-founder of Business Forward Females. The decade-old networking group is affiliated with the Westborough-based Corridor 9/495 Regional Chamber of Commerce, where Kapulka-Cariglia, 51, serves on the board.
“I wouldn’t say it’s just woman-owned businesses. We try to help all small businesses,” she said. “We can show them where to start, because it’s not very easy to open a business. Who do you go to? Who can you rely on for help? For us, the [U.S. Small Business Administration] has been a great resource.”
Volunteer efforts include coordinating multiple ongoing fundraisers to benefit the National Ataxia Foundation, and work for the National Brain Tumor Society in memory of her brother Anthony, who was lost to the illness 17 years ago. She serves on the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Breakfast Club committee and is a Worcester County Sheriff’s Office volunteer.
A parent to three grown sons (and grandparent to two more) with husband Len, Kapulka-Cariglia learned how to push forward and give back through a 37-year working relationship with her business mentor, John Mauro.
“She has a lot of energy, more than most people. I just try to harness it. She works very well with people and she’s a good leader,” said Mauro, co-founder of Simply Delicious and Elms Cafe.
Mauro has admired Kapulka-Cariglia’s work ethic since he hired the then 14-year-old while working for D’Errico’s Market in Worcester.
“Denise was very ambitious, and no matter what tasks needed to be done she would do them without complaint. That’s kind of unique,” he said. “She’s always willing to learn and is a very good people person. That’s what really made me gravitate toward her. In the hospitality business, we can [forget] what that word means. You need to be a real people person with a smile.”
Their connection deepened after Mauro’s Ataxia diagnosis nearly 20 years ago. The illness involves a debilitating loss of muscle control and coordination that can affect a person’s ability to walk, speak, see, and swallow. Mauro, 62, who received the National Ataxia Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award, serves on its executive board.
Kapulka-Cariglia is vice president of NAF’s Central Massachusetts chapter and has coordinated the annual Ride for John fundraiser, along with charity walks and golf tournaments. A second comedy-show fundraiser is set for early November at Millbury’s Asa Waters Mansion. Nearly all of Kapulka-Cariglia’s 30 catering staff members volunteer for those events.
“You’re good to your staff, and they’re good to us,” she said.
Due largely to the pair’s efforts and an assist from State Sen. Michael Moore (D-Worcester), Mass. became the first state to proclaim Sept. 25 as Ataxia Awareness Day.
Kapulka-Cariglia was introduced to the culinary world by her grandmother, who ran a restaurant. Her pursuit of that career ended in her 20s, when a surgical complication immobilized her for a full year.
“I wasn’t able to cook anymore. When I was able to walk again after so much treatment, I was in so much pain that I couldn’t stand for a long period of time,” she said.
The detour led to a fulfilling 25-year gig as a marketer-manager for Shrewsbury-based Knight’s, she said.
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