diff --git a/.SAMPLE_env b/.SAMPLE_env
index c1967c0..d4122bd 100644
--- a/.SAMPLE_env
+++ b/.SAMPLE_env
@@ -1,2 +1,8 @@
+// Set which model provider you want to use, HUGGING_FACE or OPEN_AI
+ENABLED_MODEL_STORE=HUGGING_FACE
+
+// Hugging Face API Key
+HUGGINGFACEHUB_API_KEY=
+
 //Open API API Key
-OPENAI_API_KEY=""
+OPENAI_API_KEY=
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 8caca77..1b71c91 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -23,18 +23,22 @@ This template is an example project for a simple Large Language Model (LLM) appl
 
 To get started, follow the below steps:
 
-1. Create an `.env` file by copying the `SAMPLE_env` file and add API keys for the models you are going to use
+1. Create an `.env` file by copying the `SAMPLE_env` file and add the model store provider you'll be using (e.g. HuggingFace or OpenAI) and the API keys for the models you are going to use
 1. Install packages
 1. Run the backend server that will start with a default port of `3100`
+
     ```bash
         yarn start-server
     ```
+
 1. Run the frontend server that will start with a default port of `5173`.
+
      ```bash
         yarn start
     ```
-   
+
     _Note:_ You can use the `-p` flag to specify a port for the frontend server. To do this, you can either run `yarn start` with an additional flag, like so:
+
     ```bash
         yarn start -- --port 3000
     ```
@@ -44,15 +48,26 @@ To get started, follow the below steps:
     ```bash
     vite --port 3000
     ```
-    
+
 Additional scripts are provided to prepare the app for production
+
 - `yarn build` — This will output a production build of the frontend app in the `dist` directory.
 - `yarn preview` — This will run the production build of the frontend app locally with a default port of `5173` (_note_: this will not work if you haven't generated the production build yet).
 
+### Tutorials
 
 👽 If you're looking for more thorough instructions follow [this tutorial on running an LLM React Node app](https://blog.golivecosmos.com/build-an-llm-app-with-node-react-and-langchain-js/). 📚
 
 -------------
 
-## Shout out to the ⭐star gazers⭐ supporting the project
+## How to Contribute
+
+Feel free to try out the template and open any issues if there's something you'd like to see added or fixed, or open a pull request to contribute.
+
+### Shout out to the ⭐star gazers⭐ supporting the project
+
 [![Stargazers repo roster for @golivecosmos/llm-react-node-app-template](https://reporoster.com/stars/golivecosmos/llm-react-node-app-template)](https://github.com/golivecosmos/llm-react-node-app-template/stargazers)
+
+### Thanks for the forks🍴
+
+[![Forkers repo roster for @golivecosmos/llm-react-node-app-template](https://reporoster.com/forks/golivecosmos/llm-react-node-app-template)](https://github.com/golivecosmos/llm-react-node-app-template/network/members)
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 2ae10e8..06aaeaf 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -8,11 +8,12 @@
         "start": "vite",
         "preview": "vite preview",
         "build": "vite build",
-        "start-server": "node ./server/index.js"
+        "start-server": "nodemon ./server/index.js"
     },
     "dependencies": {
         "@emotion/react": "^11.11.0",
         "@emotion/styled": "^11.11.0",
+        "@huggingface/inference": "^2.5.0",
         "@koa/cors": "^4.0.0",
         "@koa/router": "^12.0.0",
         "@mui/icons-material": "^5.11.16",
diff --git a/server/config/model_store_constants.js b/server/config/model_store_constants.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..39d129c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/config/model_store_constants.js
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+import { HuggingFaceService } from '../services/hf.js'
+import { OpenAiService } from '../services/openai.js'
+
+export const MODEL_STORES = {
+    'HUGGING_FACE': HuggingFaceService,
+    'OPEN_AI': OpenAiService,
+};
+
+export const { ENABLED_MODEL_STORE } = process.env;
+export const DEFAULT_ENABLED_MODEL_STORE = 'HUGGING_FACE';
+
+export const enabledModel = ENABLED_MODEL_STORE || DEFAULT_ENABLED_MODEL_STORE;
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/server/handlers/chat_handler.js b/server/handlers/chat_handler.js
index 58d1165..cc2ac00 100644
--- a/server/handlers/chat_handler.js
+++ b/server/handlers/chat_handler.js
@@ -1,32 +1,13 @@
-import { ConversationChain } from 'langchain/chains';
-import { ChatOpenAI } from 'langchain/chat_models/openai';
-import { ChatPromptTemplate, HumanMessagePromptTemplate, MessagesPlaceholder, SystemMessagePromptTemplate } from 'langchain/prompts';
-import { ConversationSummaryMemory } from 'langchain/memory';
+import { MODEL_STORES, enabledModel } from '../config/model_store_constants.js';
 
 class ChatService {
   constructor () {
-    this.chat = new ChatOpenAI({ temperature: 0, verbose: true });
-    this.chatPrompt = ChatPromptTemplate.fromPromptMessages([
-      SystemMessagePromptTemplate.fromTemplate('The following is a friendly conversation between a human and an AI. The AI is talkative and provides lots of specific details from its context. If the AI does not know the answer to a question, it truthfully says it does not know.'),
-      new MessagesPlaceholder('history'),
-      HumanMessagePromptTemplate.fromTemplate('{input}'),
-    ]);
-
-    this.memory = new ConversationSummaryMemory({ llm: this.chat, returnMessages: true });
+    this.model = new MODEL_STORES[enabledModel]
   }
 
   async startChat(data) {
     const { body: { userInput } } = data;
-
-    const chain = new ConversationChain({
-      memory: this.memory,
-      prompt: this.chatPrompt,
-      llm: this.chat,
-    });
-
-    const response = await chain.call({
-      input: userInput,
-    });
+    const response = await this.model.call(userInput);
 
     return response;
   }
diff --git a/server/services/hf.js b/server/services/hf.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7164aca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/services/hf.js
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+import { HfInference } from "@huggingface/inference";
+
+const { HUGGINGFACEHUB_API_KEY } = process.env;
+
+class HuggingFaceService {
+    constructor () {
+      this.modelName = 'microsoft/DialoGPT-large';
+      this.model = new HfInference(HUGGINGFACEHUB_API_KEY);
+    }
+
+    async call(userInput) {
+      // TO DO: pass in past_user_inputs for context
+      const response = await this.model.conversational({
+        model: this.modelName,
+        temperature: 0,
+        inputs: {
+          text: userInput,
+        }
+      });
+
+      return { response: response && response.generated_text };
+    }
+}
+
+export { HuggingFaceService }
diff --git a/server/services/openai.js b/server/services/openai.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fae7d27
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/services/openai.js
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+import { ConversationChain } from 'langchain/chains';
+import { ChatOpenAI } from 'langchain/chat_models/openai';
+import { ChatPromptTemplate, HumanMessagePromptTemplate, MessagesPlaceholder, SystemMessagePromptTemplate } from 'langchain/prompts';
+import { ConversationSummaryMemory } from 'langchain/memory';
+
+class OpenAiService {
+  constructor () {
+    this.model = new ChatOpenAI({ temperature: 0, verbose: true });
+
+    this.chatPrompt = ChatPromptTemplate.fromPromptMessages([
+      SystemMessagePromptTemplate.fromTemplate('The following is a friendly conversation between a human and an AI. The AI is talkative and provides lots of specific details from its context. If the AI does not know the answer to a question, it truthfully says it does not know.'),
+      new MessagesPlaceholder('history'),
+      HumanMessagePromptTemplate.fromTemplate('{input}'),
+    ]);
+
+    this.memory = new ConversationSummaryMemory({ llm: this.model, returnMessages: true });
+  }
+
+  assembleChain () {
+    const chain = new ConversationChain({
+      memory: this.memory,
+      prompt: this.chatPrompt,
+      llm: this.model,
+    });
+    return chain;
+  }
+
+  call = async (userInput) => {  
+    const chain = this.assembleChain();
+  
+    const response = await chain.call({
+      input: userInput,
+    });
+   return response;
+  }
+}
+
+export { OpenAiService };
diff --git a/yarn.lock b/yarn.lock
index 5bd1f7d..ddcf700 100644
--- a/yarn.lock
+++ b/yarn.lock
@@ -520,6 +520,11 @@
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@fortaine/fetch-event-source/-/fetch-event-source-3.0.6.tgz#b8552a2ca2c5202f5699b93a92be0188d422b06e"
   integrity sha512-621GAuLMvKtyZQ3IA6nlDWhV1V/7PGOTNIGLUifxt0KzM+dZIweJ6F3XvQF3QnqeNfS1N7WQ0Kil1Di/lhChEw==
 
+"@huggingface/inference@^2.5.0":
+  version "2.5.0"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@huggingface/inference/-/inference-2.5.0.tgz#8e14ee6696e91aecb132c90d3b07be8373e70338"
+  integrity sha512-X3NSdrWAKNTLAsEKabH48Wc+Osys+S7ilRcH1bf9trSDmJlzPVXDseXMRBHCFPCYd5AAAIakhENO4zCqstVg8g==
+
 "@jridgewell/gen-mapping@^0.3.0", "@jridgewell/gen-mapping@^0.3.2":
   version "0.3.3"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@jridgewell/gen-mapping/-/gen-mapping-0.3.3.tgz#7e02e6eb5df901aaedb08514203b096614024098"