New Charlottesville cafe gives jobs to people living with disabilities - WHSV

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - A new cafe in Charlottesville is giving opportunities to people with disabilities.

Getting a job at Kindness Cafe + Play can offer a lot of benefits for someone who has a disability, but staff members are not thinking about what their job can give to them. Instead, it is all about what they can give to the customer to make their day brighter.

“That’s why it’s called ‘Kindness’ because we are nice to everyone,” barista Marcos Davis said.

Whether you order a coffee, a smoothie, or just want a thumbs up, the cafe is on a mission to be the best part of your day.

“It’s a different coffee shop than other ones, but I think it’s probably the best one to come to because we are so nice,” Davis added. “We do customer service, and we are excited to help you out.”

Davis says the happy workplace environment makes all the difference.

“That’s one good thing about it: everyone is so positive, and in some areas people are not positive. So this is like a great area to work in,” he said.

“It’s been really powerful to see the staff working and the joy they have,” Kindness Cafe + Play Executive Director Katie Kishore said. “The commitment, they continue to bring to the organization and how much fun we’re having together.”

Davis is proud of the message that the cafe shares with the community.

“It is showing people that us kids with disabilities can still get jobs,” he said.

However, Kishore says the cafe is much more than just a place to work: “Social interaction, a daily schedule, a sense of purpose, a built-in community of support and friendship are all the things that a lot of adults with disabilities or any adult right without a job can lack,” she said.

Kishore created the concept for the business based a video she saw of a similar coffee shop in North Carolina, and also from personal experience.

“I have a daughter with Down syndrome and a typically developing daughter, and I really felt strongly that Charlottesville could really benefit from a space like Kindness,” she said.

“Thanks a latte,” employee Crosby Horton said, which is one of Kindness’s signature phrases.

Kindness Cafe + Play is open at the Brooks Family YMCA Wednesday to Saturday from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. for curbside pickup. To learn more about Kindness’s staff and mission, click here.

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