‘More than just coffee’: Arlington Heights café recognized for hiring people with disabilities

Stop into Gerry’s Café in Arlington Heights and you’ll be able to smell and taste a variety of things sweet and savory, and all homemade: breakfast and lunch sandwiches, soups and salads, and popular pastries like muffins, scones, brownies and large chocolate chip cookies.

But handcrafting goods in house is only one of the reasons the coffee shop was recognized Tuesday as the newest small business inducted into the Illinois Office of Tourism’s Illinois Made program.

Local makers should also have “a captivating story to tell, whether because of a rich history, unique origins or a pioneering spirit,” according to the program criteria.

And what a story Gerry’s Café has to tell, as it approaches its two-year anniversary of employing adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, giving them a place to earn a paycheck and connect with and contribute to the community.

“It has been an adventure. … The success of Gerry’s is truly our employees, our management and our volunteers,” co-founder Amy Philpott said during a small celebration inside the café Tuesday morning. “It’s time and treasure, but it’s all for the growth and development of our employees.”

Philpott, a real estate agent and one-time Arlington Heights Chamber of Commerce board president, and fellow co-founder Natalie Griffin first talked about starting a business that would hire adults with special needs in 2017.

Griffin, a former special education teacher, was frustrated that many of her students weren’t getting hired despite their potential, and the jobs they were getting were actually unpaid internships or volunteer roles.

In 2018, the friends formed the Brewing Opportunities 501(c) (3) nonprofit and recruited a group of fellow volunteers to serve with them on the board of directors. They held a series of successful fundraisers — then were delayed by the pandemic — before finally opening the coffee shop’s doors at 1802 N. Arlington Heights Road in August 2023.

They named the café for Philpott’s aunt Geralyn Wehmer, who was born with Down syndrome in 1958 and died shortly before her fourth birthday.

The business employs 35 adults with disabilities between the ages of 22 to 52. They work independently as baristas, cashiers, greeters, bakers, dishwashers and sandwich and salad makers. A general manager, assistant manager and two shift supervisors oversee day-to-day operations, training, inventory and payroll.

“What I thought would be our biggest challenge was our employees and their training, and would they be successful. That was never a challenge,” Griffin said. “I was proven wrong because they immediately accepted the job, they got the training, they were excited, and they put forth so much effort to be good at their jobs.”

After training for the initial positions they were hired for, employees have learned more and more and taken on new jobs in the café, Griffin says.

“They have the abilities. That’s what I think is our greatest success,” she said. “They’re proud of their work. They have purpose, joy, meaning, and they get a fair wage paycheck.”

The founders acknowledge the financial sustainability of Gerry’s Café remains a concern. Nearly two years in, they’ve yet to break even at the register. Payroll costs remain high, and were further increased by the hike in the minimum wage from $14 to $15 an hour at the beginning of the year, they say.

At the same time, there’s great demand for jobs: the shop has a waitlist of 35.

The nonprofit is bolstered by fundraisers, like a golf outing in June that raised $138,000. Gerry’s Café will be the benefiting organization at Rolling Green Country Club’s annual Charity Classic Sept. 20, while another event is scheduled for December at Arlington Ale House.

But the big thing has been “just getting people to know that we’re here,” Griffin said.

There is a steady stream of customers who regularly frequent the shop, from book club readers to Sunday churchgoers. At the same time, the café has tried to increase its catering business and reach out to companies and chambers of commerce as an option for their breakfast and lunch meetings.

They now hope to get a boost from the Illinois tourism designation.

“It’s been a lot of marketing and trying to get people to stop at Gerry’s, know that we’re more than just coffee, that we do have a mission and a purpose, and when you’re supporting Gerry’s Café instead of Panera and Jimmy John’s, you are giving jobs to people who have been overlooked in the past,” Griffin said.