As Gerry’s Cafe gears up to celebrate its second anniversary Saturday, the Arlington Heights shop continues to draw statewide attention. Earlier this month, Gerry’s was inducted into the 2025 class of Illinois Makers, by the Illinois Office of Tourism for its dedication to community, inclusion and exceptional service.
Amy Philpott, left, and Natalie Griffin
Within the last two weeks, Gerry’s founders, Natalie Griffin and Amy Philpott, have been interviewed on ABC-7 and WGN, as part of its Spotlight Chicago segment.
Yet, the two are celebrating more than their anniversary. They’re celebrating their employees, the more than 35 adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, who are thriving with their meaningful work at Gerry’s.
Take Hannah Kaczor. She was one of the cafe’s first employees two years ago and she admits she was nervous when she started and needed a lot of support. Fast forward, and Hannah is only the second team member to be promoted to a Crew Member, or one who fills in where needed and helps support other teammates.
Hannah Kaczor takes a break from scheduling.
“Hannah now excels at high pressure situations,” says John Will, general manager. “She’s also one of our most outgoing, customer-facing employees.”
This is Hannah’s first job and she says she’s enjoying everything about it.
“I like working every station,” Hannah says, “and being around everybody, my bosses and my coworkers. We’re in touch outside of the shop too.”
Another original employee is Samantha Carlson, who is training to be a Crew Member. She worked mostly making the cafe’s craft sandwiches but now is learning to become a barista and cashier, as well as the skills necessary to help other teammates.
Samantha Carlson is learning to become a barista.
When asked what she likes most about working at the cafe, she doesn’t hesitate: “Everybody respects each other. Everybody wants to be here. We all care about this place.”
Kathleen McIlwee is another employee who radiates joy in working at the cafe — and with her fellow teammates.
“She’s very social,” says Assistant Manager Amanda Anderson of Kat. “She usually works making sandwiches or dishes. In fact, she’s one of our favorite persons to make dishes. She knocks them out in no time and always leaves the station so clean.”
These are just a few of the stories of team members blossoming from their employment at Gerry’s. It’s evident to customers — and their joy is contagious.
Griffin, a longtime special education teacher at Kirk School in Palatine, started the shop with Philpott, who brought her retail experience from Trader Joe’s and locally from owning Tuscan Market, among others. When they realized that there was an 80% unemployment rate among adults with disabilities, they set out to fill that void and give them meaningful work, at that. They also sought to educate the community about their employees’ “incredible abilities.”
“We see abilities in our employees — and progress. We see success,” Griffin says. “We see social engagement, active contributions to the cafe business and self confidence.
“We see the development of new peer relationships — and customer relationships,” she adds. “We see community members who want to come to Gerry’s Cafe to see our people. This is indeed worth celebrating.”
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