CEDARS, Pa.—So Much to Give Inclusive Café is a unique full-service restaurant with a welcoming environment for people with disabilities who are among their staff.
Kathy Opperman, founder of Pillars of Light and Love, which is the owner of the café, said they had a “soft” opening for friends and families of their employees last November.
“We have over 60 employees, and they are very eager to work," Opperman told The Epoch Times.
“We also have a waiting list of employees. It’s very fulfilling, and it’s very rewarding because they really enjoy working here.”
Opperman and her partners realized that there was a need to assist youths and adults with disabilities to better integrate with the broader community.
“We’ve created this experience of an inclusive environment where those with disabilities can work alongside everyone else and to show to the public that they can do this job just like anyone else,” Opperman said.
“Because they can’t get jobs, 76 percent of those with disabilities are unable to be employed,” she said. “But we’re employing them. Some of them can only work two-hour shifts, and so we are very flexible with their schedules, which is very unique and different than other opportunities at other restaurants”.
Opperman said their staff is amazing: “They are filled with so much joy when they come into work.”
“We’re here also to teach and educate the community to let people know that those with disabilities can work and they can be very, very good employees.”
Initial Start
Maureen Stanko, another co-founder of the café, has been a school teacher for over 25 years. “I did this because my son is about to turn 21. There really isn’t anything for these young adults when they age out of the school system,” she said.Stanko was concerned about her son Nicholas who has autism and may not find a job after school. So she started the program—So Much to Give for young adults with disabilities in 2021.
Stanko knew her son is a good cook, which led her to contact Tyler Kammerle, one of her son’s therapists, who had a dream to open an inclusive restaurant, and from that, along with teaming up with Opperman, they created the So Much to Give Inclusive Café.
Stanko said they want to explore different people’s abilities “to create ways for everybody to be able to give back to the community and share who they are.”
Stanko said she was amazed to see the growth of the project.
“When you come in here, you really can just feel the love, and you can see all these different people growing constantly,” she said.
“The food is great, and it’s just so different from anything else that exists right now for the community that we are serving.
“It’s like a flower opening. Every week is something new, and we just watched them grow, and we love it,” Stanko said.
“I’m so proud of all of our workers. They’re just incredible people. And our volunteers are helping to make this happen. And we couldn’t do it without all these people.”
Stanko also expressed her deep appreciation for the community’s great support.
“Because they are the ones that helped us to build this. It was our community here that raised $150,000 so that we could even make this happen. So without the community, none of this would be happening.”
New Business Model
Opperman commended Tyler Kammerle, the cafe’s general manager.“I’ve never met a young man who had so much inspiration and a drive to change the world,” Opperman said.
Kammerle said he loves his work.
“It’s definitely my favorite job I’ve ever had. You get something new every day. I love the people I work with. I love the customers that come in and kind of match our energy. I guess everybody just has this very positive feeling coming in, you can feel a sense of love and just compassion,” he said.
“And honestly, I can’t ask for anything more going to work every day.”
Kammerle thinks they are creating a new business model in what they are doing.
“We’ve tried to make systems that make any type of job in this place possible for anybody,' he said.
“That’s what we’re about; instead of kind of finding somebody that fits into a role, we’re about morphing the role around the people. So I think that’s what makes us very special,” said Kammerle. “We just want to kind of create a place of welcoming.”
But there have been some challenges for him in running the cafe.
In the first week of opening, a customer was taken aback by how the cafe operated and its mission and complained about it, saying that the cafe needed to be “more open” about what they were doing and offering.
It upset him at the time, but he said it was a one-off.
“Ever since then, it’s been amazing. It’s been a complete 180. Everybody that comes in: this is so cool, we love the servers, we love your employees, everybody gets along, everybody supports each other.”
Kammerle said that he is happy to see how much their employees have progressed and grown together since working at the cafe.
Love Working at the Cafe
Braxton Denner, a 16-year-old high school student, said he enjoyed working at the cafe as a server.“I like it a lot. It motivates me a lot,” he said.
Nikki Foster, one of the cafe’s waitresses, echoed the same sentiments. “Though every other job that I’ve been to, they’ve been letting me go because of my disability,“ she said. ”Though here they don’t judge.”
Bridget Hopkins is a greeter at the cafe and talks to everyone who walks in the door. “I love it—because it’s great to see all the people working here,” Hopkins said.
“And I have a little three-year-old daughter who comes in to eat a lot. She loves it here too,” she said.
Devon Anderson, another greeter, said she enjoyed working at the cafe as it’s nice and fun.
“I like bringing people to their tables and welcoming them to the café and telling them to enjoy their meal,” Anderson said.
Anderson said she felt that she has improved herself after working at the cafe.
“I think I’m able to talk to people better and have better conversations with people,” she said.
Jackson Harris, a waiter, said: “I really love it. Everyone’s so nice. And the culture here is just amazing. Everyone’s always trying to do their best.”
“Anybody can find work. And everyone can be useful no matter who you are. You can always do something to help someone else.”
Lauren Oppelt is the hostess of the cafe. “It’s really neat to be able to work with these young adults and just see that joy in their faces,” Oppelt said. “I saw growth in them and growth in myself.”
![Lauren Oppelt, a hostess of the So Much to Give Inclusive Café, says: “To me, it's not work, [but] it's fun,” on March 26, 2023. (William Huang/The Epoch Times)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2023%2F03%2F30%2Fid5159483-Lauren-Oppelt-1200x800.jpg&w=1200&q=75)
“It’s really rewarding for people like myself because this cafe is inclusive. It’s with people with or without disabilities. So to see everybody work together, it’s just amazing.”
Oppelt said people here “care for each other.” She feels she comes here not for work: “To me, it’s not work, [but] it’s fun.”
“I think it’s joy. Everyone wants that sense of joy and hope that something that’s good for everyone.”
Customers
Scott Waller just finished his lunch with his family at the café. He’s an electrical lineman and also a pastor of a small church at his house. He said this is their second time at the cafe, and they plan on coming there a lot more.“The restaurant is fantastic! The food is great! The atmosphere is welcoming,” said Waller.
“The love is shared through the people who are serving us, and even the people who come here. It’s just refreshing. We love an atmosphere like this,” he said.
“I think it’s a good way to inspire the community because in a world right now, it’s been just so angry. When you come in a place like this, you can feel the love, you can see the love, you can express the love, and everybody here is accepted as who they are,” Waller added.
“The world could learn from that.”
He said he would recommend the restaurant to everybody.
“Just check it out yourself. Really great food, great people, great atmosphere.”
The café menu is primarily American fare with Italian, Mexican, seafood, vegetarian, and dessert offerings.
