A new Frisco coffee shop is changing lives in the surrounding community. Bitty & Beau's Coffee, which opened its Frisco location in April, is providing job opportunities to people with Down syndrome and other physical and intellectual disabilities.
Bitty & Beau’s Coffee began as an idea by Amy Wright, who is the mother of four children — one of whom is autistic and two of them, the shop's namesakes, with Down syndrome. According to Amy’s husband Ben, in the fall 2015, as she was taking a shower. “She says her best ideas come to her in the shower,” says Ben. “And she’s had some great ones.”
Upon learning that 80% of people with disabilities are unemployed, Amy wanted to create a space where people with disabilities could learn skills, form community and interact with the world around them. “The world feels kind of closed to people with disabilities, and treats them mostly through the lens of charity and pity,” says Ben. “And we just did not want that for our children. So we thought, ‘Gosh, maybe the best way to approach this is through a business lens, creating something with the ability to innovate.
From One Idea to a Nationwide Movement
By 2016, Bitty & Beau’s opened its first location in Wilmington, North Carolina, hiring 19 people with disabilities. The Frisco location marks Bitty & Beau’s first North Texas shop, and its 19th overall. To date, Bitty & Beau’s employs over 450 people.
Each shop is set up very intentionally. Employees take orders using touch screen devices, making the process of ordering simple and seamless. Upon ordering, each customer is handed a playing card, and when the order is complete, an employee will hold up the corresponding playing card, signaling that their food or coffee order is ready.
An open bar station set-up allows for employees and customers to interact more directly. “We leave it open intentionally, diner style, because we want all of our guests to see our employees with disabilities working. We want them to see supervision done in a very kind and polite way, and we want to dispel this notion that people with disabilities can't be in the workplace.
A Menu with Personality
As for the menu, Bitty & Beau’s brews with beans sourced from the Mapache Estate in El Salvador. The shop offers several traditional coffee drinks like americanos, cappuccinos and mochas, as well as specialty lattes like chai and matcha. Those with a sweet tooth can enjoy smoothies, as well as frappes — the latter coming in flavorites like cotton candy, mint chocolate and cookies and cream. As the seasons change, the menu also offers seasonal beverages, like the sweet peach iced tea and the coconut cold brew. Bagels, muffins and gluten-free cookies are also available for purchase.
Welcomed With Open Arms
Since opening, the response from the community has been overwhelming. According to Ben, the line was “out of the door, all day long” during opening weekend, and the shop has received a continued outpouring of support on social media.
“What we’ve appreciated most about the Frisco community is how quickly people understood and supported what we’re doing,” says Amy. “There’s a strong sense of engagement here — people show up, they spread the word and they’re genuinely interested in creating a more inclusive community. That kind of response makes a real difference.”
More Than a Coffee Shop
While the shop has proven to be a success, Amy and Ben emphasize that the mission doesn’t end there. The duo’s ultimate goal is to make an impact in the career landscape and job market for people with disabilities.
“Our mission is not just to hire people with disabilities,” says Ben. Our mission is to change the way people think about and view people with disabilities, so that they too might have the courage to begin to hire people with disabilities in their own places of work.”
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