Visit Cakeable’s new Charlotte cafe for a cup of coffee — and a new perspective

A new cafe is officially opening April 20 in uptown Charlotte, and while it will sell the usual spread of matchas, mochas, drip coffee and sweet treats to pair, it’s offering up something different on the menu — a perspective shift.

Cakeable, a nonprofit program offering vocational training for adults who live with intellectual and developmental disabilities, is expanding to become Cakeable Cafe. At the gathering space, the newly trained employees will practice their skills on the front lines of service.

Co-founder and Executive Director Renee Ratcliffe shared that the work is “a huge part of our mission, to change perceptions, and to change stereotypes around Down syndrome and autism.”

John, a Cakeable employee with Down syndrome, is transcending stereotypes behind the counter while the cafe is in a soft-opening phase. John has mastered grinding, tamping and breaking down espresso in an old-school machine. He then taught two fellow employees how to do the same. When downtime pops up, he attends to a running list of side work.

General Manager Julia Kravis said she has really stepped back on the hands-on training with the staff because “the entire student employee group can, for the most part, do everything themselves … they train each other,” she said.

Just before getting the chance to talk to John, a guest walked in. Duty calls.

One of the side work activities that John and his team enjoy is stamping the coffee sleeves and hand-writing positive messages on the back of the sleeve.

By building a business that puts folks with intellectual and developmental disabilities behind the counter, Ratcliffe hopes to inspire local business owners to reframe their beliefs around employing workers with disabilities and, importantly, to consider the benefits of doing so.

“We want to show people that when you have employees who have disabilities, that they bring so much positivity, so much enthusiasm and loyalty … A rising tide lifts all ships, right?” Ratcliffe shared.

Ratcliffe compared her inclusive nonprofit team of bakers, trainers and managers — individuals both with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities — to a cake recipe: “Every part matters … it’s not just the butter and the flour … if one part is missing, then it’s not complete.”

According to research outlined in Cakeable’s 2023 report, only 21% of working-age adults living with intellectual and developmental disabilities are employed, and North Carolina ranks 41 out 50 for employment opportunities for this community.

Cakeable’s on a mission to change those statistics and the narrative at large. The participants of the Cakeable training program can be called employees, students or trainees by some. But Ratcliffe calls them “bakers or baristas,” because that is exactly, unapologetically, what they are. “I want them to know that they are valued for who they are,” Ratcliffe said. “And they have more skills than any of us might have recognized before.”

Training at Cakeable

At Cakeable Cafe, employees with intellectual and developmental disabilities can be found ringing up customers and steaming caffeinated beverages after a few weeks of training. This ready-as-ever team is equipped with the foundations of customer service, point of sale systems and of course, how to make a killer coffee.

The cafe training is only one facet of the overarching comprehensive training program that has been around since 2019 and is at the very core of Cakeable’s mission: “to empower people, businesses, and communities to achieve their fullest potential through an inclusive work environment.”

This bakery training program — the original program established since Cakeable’s inception — averages 16 weeks. The students first learn soft skills, such as teamwork and clear communication, then transition into technical skills.

The employees, 21 of whom are at the cafe and nine of whom are at the bakery, range from 17 to 60 years old. From Day One of training, the program includes regular pay for employees.

“Ultimately, we want our employees to … advocate for themselves, to show people their abilities first,” Ratcliffe said.

To sharpen those strengths, bakery training begins with “basic baking skills, starting with brownies and working their way up to more complicated recipes,” Ratcliffe said. Once training is complete, these freshly certified employees choose between continuing on as a behind-the-scenes baker or, now, being a guest-facing customer service specialist and barista.

There’s also an expectation that these employees will return to the ultimate goal of this program: “to get … out and active in the community,” Ratcliffe said.

“Some of our employees may come in and have different goals,” Ratcliffe shared. “So it’s important for us to sit down with them from the beginning and say, ‘What do you want to do in your job or your career?’”

That’s when Cakeable’s vocational training manager, Amanda Jones, comes in to help transition these bakers into employment opportunities, assisting with resume building, interview preparation, and applications.

The pipeline has proven extremely successful. Ratcliffe reminisces on former students, saying that “Jacob is at Poppyseeds Bagels, Katie has moved to Atrium Pineville in a physician’s lounge and many employees are trying out Harris Teeter and Publix.”

What it means to work at Cakeable

At the cafe, Cakeable managers like Jones and General Manager Julia Kravis have encouraged trained employees to take the reins.

“They’re greeting the guests, doing the register, making the drinks, cleaning the bathrooms, mopping the floors … they’re doing all of it, and they’re happy. They want to be here,” Kravis said.

One baker is a self-proclaimed “scone master,’‘ while another is the “brownie queen.”

Alongside brownies, scones and a way-too-good oatmeal cream pie — all made at Cakeable’s bakery location — the cafe pours Haerfest Coffee, a roastery similarly aligned with a mission to employ folks with disabilities.

A team effort

Community support has proven to be essential in helping mission-oriented spaces like Cakeable thrive. “So much has happened with Cakeable that is beyond what I could have expected … that one article opened up so much opportunity to us,” Ratcliffe said.

That CharlotteFive article she’s referring to was published back in 2021. After a string of connections and networking, it helped nudge Cakeable to where it is today — in a space gifted by Bank of America to Cakeable Cafe for 5 years.

In addition to that sponsor, Cakeable was awarded an $810,000 grant from Mecklenburg County, along with external job placement support from Compass Group, Canteen and Eurest.

Cakeable Cafe officially opens with a grand celebration on April 20, including samples and festivities inside and outside the space. Guests can walk in anytime Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m.-4 p.m., starting now, while the team is still in its training phase.

Cakeable

Location: 401 North Tryon St.Charlotte, NC 28202

Hours: 7 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday; 8 a.m.-12 p.m. on Saturdays.

Menu

Cuisine: Bakery, cakes, coffee

Instagram:@wearecakeable

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