Bitty & Beau's Mission Is Stronger Than Coffee

MELROSE, MA — Bitty & Beau's isn't your everyday coffee shop.

That's OK. That's the point.

"It's a human rights movement disguised as a coffee shop," company founder Amy Wright said over the phone.

Bitty & Beau's, as you may know, will employ people who are intellectually and developmentally delayed when it opens this summer in the old D'Amici's spot downtown.

But you might not know exactly why. It's not just a feel-good story — it's a necessary one.

"Yes we're creating jobs but more importantly we're shifting culture," Wright said.

Amy and her husband Ben have two children — Bitty and Beau — with Down syndrome and one with autism. Eighty percent of people like her children are unemployed, she says, but her coffee shop locations in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Maryland are working to change that.

That underrepresentation leads to a severe lack of opportunity — not just for those who end up working there, but for those who visit. Many people struggle to see the full worth and value in disabled people because they rarely interact with them.

"We really feel it's a cultural problem that manifests itself just because people that are different from one another never spend time with each other," Wright said. "This will bring people together. This will show typically developing people what's possible."

Wright hopes that leads to a chain reaction of inclusion. Maybe someone takes their coffee back to their office, where they consider hiring a person with Down syndrome. Maybe someone takes a scone back to school, where they invite a child with autism to sit with at their lunch table.

"We as a society identify someone's worth with their status in life. Whether they have employment. Whether they have connections," Wright said. "So for a lot of people, to see people with disabilities in the workplace is such a new perspective for them. I think they go, 'Oh, yeah. I see what you see. They're taking my order, they're taking my coffee, they're having a conversation with me.'"

But Bitty & Beau's isn't just a learning opportunity. It's a coffee shop — a darn good one, Wright said.

The company roasts its beans in Wilmington, North Carolina, and will leverage its "booming online business" to easily get them to Melrose. They aren't coffee novices; it's actually the official coffee of the Rachael Ray Show. There's also all the baked goods and bagels you would expect from a downtown coffee shop.

The Melrose location is scheduled to open by early July. It may end up being the first franchisee-owned location to open in the country, and it could quickly become a destination.

People come from all over the world to visit her shops, Wright said. Some are parents of children with disabilities looking for hope. She anticipates Melrose will see a similar influx.

Even people who enter without knowing what the shop is about leave with a tear in their eye.

"It changes your heart and your mind in a way you can't describe," she said.

The city is ready for it. Wright said the process in Melrose has been smoother and quicker than anywhere else.

"We've certainly felt that welcoming community there," she said.

Mike Carraggi can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @PatchCarraggi and Instagram at Melrose Happening. Subscribe to Melrose Patch for free local news and alerts and like us on Facebook.