A cup of opportunity: Bitty & Beau’s Coffee is headed to Columbia
Sometimes a cup of coffee means more than just a jolt of caffeine. It can also bring about the promise of opportunity.
Such is the case with Bitty & Beau’s Coffee, a North Carolina-based chain whose mission, in part, is to provide employment opportunities to people with disabilities. The company, which has locations open or in development in 12 states, announced earlier this week it would be bringing a location to Columbia.
Bitty & Beau’s co-founder and CEO Amy Wright said the company is looking at several sites in Columbia, and an exact location for the shop could be announced soon. She is hopeful for an opening in the late fall.
The first Bitty & Beau’s opened in Wilmington, N.C., in January 2016. The launching of the enterprise was personal for the Wright family.
“Bitty and Beau are our two youngest children, and the coffee shop is named for them,” Wright told The State. “They both have Down syndrome. One of the obstacles people with disabilities face later in life is employment opportunities. Six years ago, my husband and I started thinking forward a little bit, about what their future looked like and what we could do to help shift (the number) of people with disabilities being unemployed in our country.
“The coffee shop was born out of that.”
Aside from providing employment for those with disabilities, Wright said she hopes the coffee shops set an example of what’s possible.
“In addition to creating jobs for people with disabilities who work in these shops, we hope that every guest that comes in sees these amazing employees doing their jobs and finds some inspiration in that and takes it back to their place of work and perhaps hires someone with a disability, too,” she said.
The franchisees for the Bitty & Beau’s in Columbia will be Margaret Deans Grantz and her family. Grantz shared the news in an Instagram post earlier this week. Grantz is the co-founder of Camp Cole, a Midlands camp and retreat that is for children and adults with serious illnesses, disabilities or other challenges.
“Bitty & Beau’s is going to change the way you see someone with a disability,” Grantz said in her Instagram post. “It will change the way that you respect someone with a life challenge. It will change the way you see all people as equal people in your eyes.”
Wright said having Grantz as a franchisee is a natural fit.
“We are very discerning when we choose families we are going to partner with to open these shops,” Wright said. “Our mission is the most important part, and working with people who are trying to elevate the value and the acceptance and the inclusion of people with disabilities is our number one characteristic we are looking for when we are partnering with people. (Grantz) checks all those boxes.”
Bitty & Beau’s is a full-service coffee shop, with fresh brewed coffee as well lattes, frappes, smoothies and other drinks, along with bagels and other baked goods.
“In every shop we like to treat every guest like family,” Wright said. “We learn your name and learn your order and we look forward to seeing people again and again.”
