A tradition continued Monday when supporters of Gerry’s Cafe gathered at Chevy Chase Country Club for an afternoon golf outing. The chance to support the Arlington Heights coffee shop — that employs young people with disabilities — drew supporters from the local business community, elected officials, family members and many of the “teammates” who work at Gerry’s.
Kiera Breault describes her job at Gerry’s Cafe.
Yet, it was one young woman, Kiera Breault, who drew the spotlight. Kiera, who is 42 with Down syndrome, has worked at Gerry’s since its opening, nearly three years ago. After dinner, she took the microphone and standing in front of a sold-out crowd described her job and what it means to her.
“I love working at Gerry’s,” she said. “Being at Gerry’s feels like home. My job is what I’ve always wanted. It is a lifelong commitment that makes me feel important, confident and able to use my life skills.”
Kiera works in the bakery of the shop, where she says her favorites are the brownies and chocolate chip cookies. She also helps out with special pop-up sales, such as at the Arlington Heights Senior Center.
“I like to earn money, so that I can buy my own clothes and special gifts for my 11 nieces and nephews,” Kiera added. “And I like that I can continue to work with my friends.”
Samantha Carlson, a co-worker of Kiera’s, is learning to become a barista.
Kiera is one of 30 team members at Gerry’s, who do everything from creating coffee drinks to making sandwiches and whipping up bakery products. Team members work with one another at six different stations and are under close supervision. Increasingly, they also help prepare orders for their growing catering business. In fact, proceeds from the golf outing will help cafe founders, Natalie Griffin and Amy Philpott, purchase a delivery vehicle for their catering orders.
Right from the shop’s inception, Griffin and Philpott wanted to provide meaningful employment for young persons with disabilities, especially after learning there was an 80% unemployment rate among that population. Griffin was a longtime special education teacher at Kirk School in Palatine, while Philpott brought her retail experience from Trader Joe’s and locally from owning Tuscan Market to the concept. Both spoke at the outing.
“My heart is filled with gratitude and hope,” Griffin said to the crowd. “You all bring so much energy to our mission of striving to create opportunity, dignity and meaningful employment.”
Amy Philpott, left, and Natalie Griffin
Griffin thanked the managers who create the inclusive environment that allows team members to thrive, and she finished by thanking the employees themselves, many of whom were on hand.
“You inspire us with your hard work, dedication, perseverance and joy,” she said. “You remind us what community really looks like.”
Philpott described their future goals of launching the catering end of the shop in a meaningful way, in part through acquiring the delivery vehicle, but she also said they hoped to open a second location in the not so distant future.
“Thank you for caring,” she told supporters simply. “Thank you for believing.”
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