By: Emma Ralls

Since opening its doors in Nov. 2018, A Special Blend has been working hard not only to better the community but to better the lives of every person who walks through their doors. In April of this year, they plan to open a location in downtown High Point

The nonprofit coffee house employees’ members of the Greensboro and surrounding community with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the hopes of not only improving their quality of life, but to break down the stigma surrounding people with disabilities.

Maddison Callicutt, a student at University of North Carolina Greensboro and shift manager at A Special Blend, believes it’s incredibly important for people to remember that you cannot generalize disability.

“It’s a wide variety and can look different on each person,” Callicutt says. “Don’t come in with an assumption. We [A Special Blend] are here to make sure people have a positive experience with the disability community, which includes seeing the good and the bad. Come in with an open heart and be willing to have your mind changed.”

Megan Garvelink is a hot barista who has been working at the coffee house since its opening, and she attributes a lot of her personal growth to the job she applied for four years ago.

“It has defiantly helped me be more comfortable talking with other people,” Garvelink said. “It has helped me with stuttering as well. I am not as afraid now.”

Something that the crew at special blend appreciates outside of the personal growth is the connections they make with each other and the customers that come in. Whether it is via giving

out affirmations, which is how a customer would identify their drink opposed to their name written on the cup, or it is just talking with those who come in about their day. The customer crew connection is something that makes the experience so personal and impactful to those who stop in.

Lavinia Thompson is a greeter at A Special Blend. For the three years she has worked at the coffee house, she says her favorite thing of all must be greeting the customers and opening the door for them as they come in – as well as making the candles they sell in store.

“A Special Blend helped me learn how to be friendly and be nice,” says Thompson. “Coming to work and getting to know and café crew – it’s a friendly place. My friends here help me and I help them.”

The crew at a special blend take pride in their jobs and are excited for people to come into their store. Each person has a job and a routine, as well as there are certain practices put into place to ensure it is as a comfortable and accepting environment as possible for those working. These accommodations include extra breaks, everyone having a certain role assigned to them (i.e. hot barista, cold barista, cashier, doorman and so on), and “blend friends” around to help those on shift.

These “blend friends” are crucial to the operations at A Special Blend and are volunteers and staff members who assist the crew and ensure the coffee shop is running smoothly.

“A blend friend is a very versatile role,” Callicutt says. “It varies day to day, but it revolves around supporting our café crew. This can be talking to them when it is very slow and making sure they are doing okay because everyone has hard days. Other than that, it can look like support getting pastries, counting out days, and gentle reminders and prompts. And sometimes being a blend friend is just random little task we need like doing our menu boards.”

A Special Blend is looking for more college students to be “blend friends” help guide some of the crew members in the store. Those interested can email asbinfo@gmail.com.