Lowcountry Cuisine Spring/Summer 2019

lowcountry cuisine LC 30 www.LowcountryCuisineMag.com | www.CharlestonRecipes.com I t seems like there is a coffee shop on every corner these days, but Bitty & Beau’s Coffee – true to its slogan – is more than a cup of coffee. Serving up good brews with a side of positivity, the coffee shop is run by employees with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Founder Amy Wright opened the Charleston location – the second shop in what she envisions to be several around the country – last year, and her endeavor has earned her national press and even the 2017 CNN Hero of the Year award. Her youngest children, Bitty and Beau, have Down syndrome, and, in her speech accepting the award, she said to them, “I would not change you for the world, but I will change the world for you.” And she is – one cup of coffee at a time. More than 80 percent of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the United States are unemployed. Doing what they can to change the world, Bitty & Beau’s Coffee now employs more than 80 people at its three locations, and, for many, it is the first job they’ve ever had. The hashtag #notbroken, used in their marketing, is a reminder that regardless of disabilities, people can and should be valued, accepted and included. BY ANNE SHULER TOOLE More Than a Cup of Coffee Bitty & Beau’s Coffee Photos by Jess Wood. Trista Kutcher, Kyra Masuga and Cassie Walker.