Wilmington, North Carolina is home to a brand new coffee shop that is revolutionizing the way people do business.
Inside these blue walls, Beau’s Coffee has a business model that is like no other. Beau's gives people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) the ability to have a job. IDD disabilities include Down syndrome, autism, and cerebral palsy.
Beau's slogan says it all, "A special coffee shop run by very special people."
The store is run completely by people with these disabilities, but with a little help from their managers. They do everything from running the cash register to making the coffee.
"The system that we use is very simple and easy to understand. It’s much easier than a normal coffee shop. It’s not foolproof because we still make mistakes but training like this is something that we have never done before. At some points I was like 'I’m not sure how to do this either' and we all learned how to do it and figure it out. At first we were clueless about coffee, but now we’re experts," said Beau's Coffee manager Maddie Ashcraft. Ashcraft is also a Junior Special Education (General Curriculum) Major at UNCW's Watson College of Education.
(Below is Trevor, a Beau's Coffee employee.)
Ashcraft got involved with Beau’s Coffee due to the fact that she has known the owner, Amy Wright, for years. Wright has two children with Down syndrome, Beau who’s 11, and Bitty who is six.
(Below is Beau and Bitty Wright.)
“My favorite part is when something goes right. Whether it be a drink is made perfectly or to the customer's satisfaction. It's the way the employees feel and respond. Their expressions make it for me. They feel so valued, like their life has a purpose, our goal is to make them feel that they are apart of something bigger, which they are,” said Ashcraft.
Ashcraft also said that the community has had an amazing response to the opening of the shop.
"It's amazing how a place can put an emphasis on what someone can do, rather than can't do. It's so inspiring how the community can come together as a whole and support a life altering local business. Like literally so many people are supporting, it’s been crazy,” said UNCW Junior Jordan Hall, Special education (Adapted Curriculum) Major. Hall is a very good friend of mine and has a younger sister, Savannah, that has special needs.
(Below is Savannah and Jordan Hall.)
The reason that I am so personally invested in a business with this type of model is due to my younger brother, Steven, who has Down syndrome. A life goal for our family is to have him work and be a part of the community. People with IDD are rarely seen in the workplace and to have an entire business being run and supported by people with IDD is absolutely extraordinary to me.
“When Steven was diagnosed with Down syndrome my goal for him was to be accepted by others and to be able to work to the best of his ability,” said Susan Talbot, Steven’s mother.
(Below is my brother Steven and me.)
If you'd like to find out more about Beau's, here is a link to their Facebook page and their website.
Beau's Coffee is located at 4414 Wrightsville Ave Wilmington, NC.
They're open Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday's 8-3.
