“Whole mile, one percent or almond milk?”
There’s excitement in the air along with the scent of coffee at Brody’s Be Café in Ada Village.
Soon its sister store, Liam’s Be Café will open in Lowell, named for a co-worker who lives in town.
“He goes to church in Lowell. He serves in his community. He is an Elvis tribute artist – the only one with Down Syndrome in the world!”
Executive Director Rachel Stadt runs Be Café: a nonprofit that provides employment to people with intellectual disabilities since 2019, people like Taylor Scott.
“I like it. I like the community here. People are so nice. I like how people understand we have disabilities so they don’t are if we work slow.”
Liam’s is the fifth Be Café built on the principles of founder Jenny Cole.
“BElieve you can, you do Belong, and you can work BEside someone.”
Be Cafés hire people with a range of disabilities as BE-ristas to make drinks, building them up, training them, and hopefully sending them out to other businesses in the community.
“Maybe one of our employees wants to work at the hardware store, has always wanted to do that and we can say, “They know how to show up and they’ll work really hard.”
There are plans for more cafes, with another set to open in East Grand Rapids this spring.
“Every community has somebody with special needs in it and so we feel like every small walkable community needs to have one of these cafes in their backyard.”
Stadt says the benefits aren’t just to the employees.
“It transforms the whole community, not just one little coffee shop. Coming in to get a cup of coffee and leaving like, wow, better. I’m better for going into that place.”
