Melrose Bitty & Beau's Has Target Opening Date

MELROSE, MA — The franchisees behind Bitty & Beau's, a coffee shop that employs intellectually and developmentally delayed people, hope the downtown location will be open by early July.

Maryanne O'Donnell and her brother David O'Donnell — "I'm the heart and he's the brains," Maryanne said — appeared before a City Council subcommittee Tuesday night to get approval for the coffee shop. They made it clear Melrose was the only place they considered launching, and it could end up being the first franchise location in America.

Maryanne O'Donnell said she first walked into a Bitty & Beau's in Charleston, S.C., and "pretty much fell in love with it."

"Every time you walk in there you walk out feeling better than you did before," she said.

Bitty & Beau's intends to be open seven days a week from 7 a.m. - 5 p.m., according to plans filed. There will be about 20 indoor seats in the roughly 2,500-square-foot space.

The coffee shop will open on Main Street in the old D'Amici's location.

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.