Daily Herald opinion: The inspiration of ‘a pioneering spirit’: Stories like that of Gerry’s Cafe are indeed ‘captivating,’ but also something more

It may indeed be that its “captivating story” helped earn Gerry’s Cafe a spot on the Illinois Made program of the state Office of Tourism. But the Arlington Heights shop staffed by people with disabilities certainly fits another of the program’s criteria, “a pioneering spirit.”

One of the defining features of pioneers is that they inspire followers. Can Gerry’s Cafe achieve that goal? It’s probably a bit too early for predictions about the two-year-old business. But one can certainly hope.

And there is some precedent.

Founders Natalie Griffin and Amy Philpott took some of their inspiration from an operation started in 2016 in Wilmington, North Carolina, Bitty & Beau’s Coffee, which has grown to franchise in 17 locations across a dozen states and Washington, D.C. And they got some help from Inspired Coffee, a shop that had opened in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, in 2020.

Here in the suburbs, Moose & Me Bakery, staffed largely by adults with disabilities, started with a staff of two in a family kitchen four years ago and now operates in a city storefront and boasts at least 13 employees profiled on its website. Will’s Place, a Skokie coffee shop, opened around the same time as Gerry’s.

It takes some gumption and a sense of mission to pioneer something new, something difficult. The owners of Gerry’s have been learning that lesson from the beginning. As our Chris Placek explained in a story on the café’s new tourism designation last week, the nonprofit business has yet to break even and depends on fundraisers to help it thrive. Another similarly focused business — Chez Francois Poutinerie in Naperville — opened in 2022, but managed to stay afloat for only about a year.

But it is interesting to note that, as Griffin told Placek, the challenges come not from any shortcomings on the part of the employees with disabilities but from “just getting people to know that we’re here.”

“What I thought would be our biggest challenge was our employees and their training, and would they be successful?” Griffin said. “That was never a challenge. 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.”

That spirit may be what most offers hope for the success of operations like Gerry’s Cafe, Moose & Me — at 1802 N. Arlington Heights Road and 3075 Book Road, respectively, by the way — and the others. Perhaps it is that that can help the rest of us get to know how to find businesses where the employees are dedicated, motivated and proud. Perhaps it is that that resounds uniquely for these businesses among the many diverse pioneering operations that have achieved the Illinois Made designation.

And it is certainly that, in combination with the determination and energy of their founders, which ought to inspire all of us, whatever our abilities, to make and support positive endeavors in our communities.