Livonia Coffee Shop Celebrates Five Years Serving the Community

Anastasia and Katie's Coffee Shop and Café in Livonia celebrated the five year anniversary of the shop's Grand Opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony on January 14. The coffee shop is the first business venture of Mi Work Matters, a non-profit organization that advocates for employment opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). In Michigan, the current employment rate for adults with developmental disabilities is less than 20 percent. Mi Work Matters was formed in July of 2018 when its founders realized the need for a more focused approach to addressing employment issues for those with I/DD. The coffee shop derives its name from the daughters of the organization's two founders.

Co-founder and Executive Director of Mi Work Matters Kelly Rockwell says that in addition to providing a paycheck, employment at Anastasia and Katie's Coffee Shop provides employees the opportunity to be part of the community and mental health benefits include less isolation, feeling a sense of purpose, and feeling less depression. "Even though we've been around for five years, employment statistics for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities continue to indicate the 75 to 80 percent of people with disabilities are excluded from the workforce; if you're excluded from the workforce, you're excluded from those benefits as well," she explains.

As an inclusive place of employment for people of all abilities, the coffee shop has garnered enthusiastic support in the community, with regular customers who enjoy the shop's welcoming atmosphere and chatting with the staff. The shop offers coffee, lattes, smoothies, tea, sandwiches, muffins, and pastries, all of which employees learn how to prepare. Staff are also guided on food safety and safe handling of food products, cleaning, sanitizing, and handwashing, customer relations, and operating the cash register. However, Rockwell adds there is currently a waiting list for employment positions and 2024 saw 100 percent employee retention, a remarkable feat as most food service jobs experience a high turnover rate in employment.

Livonia resident Ian Edgar is one of the shop's original employees. "I was here when the coffee shop officially opened in 2020, then when COVID struck, I wasn't evens sure they were going to still be here. I'm actually very lucky that this place survived," he says. "I love working here. Our coffee shop is a coffee shop with purpose. This coffee shop gives people with disabilities the opportunity to work in a traditional service setting. When I'm here and I'm caring for the customers it makes me feel good that I'm doing something good for the world."

Also in attendance for the celebration was Livonia Mayor Maureen Miller Brosnan. "This was the first ribbon-cutting I did as mayor five years ago, and shortly after we did it, the whole world closed down. But they made it through that difficult time and continued to thrive," she says. "For us in Livonia, we look at Anastasia and Katie's and see that it's a strong organization because of the people that work here, a special group of people and we love the fact that we're part of that story."

Edgar is part of a new project, the Mi Work Matters Employment Ambassadors, a group of young adults who promote inclusivity by advocating for employment for those with I/DD by creating and making presentations to local businesses, community organizations, schools, and civic groups. The Employment Ambassadors encourage the hiring of individuals with I/DD because businesses who do often report 28 percent higher revenue and 30 percent higher profit margins. In addition, employees with I/DD contribute to higher productivity, lower absenteeism rates, and increased customer loyalty. Individuals with I/DD are also one of the largest consumer market segments in the U.S. and the best way to tap into this market segment is through representation in the workplace.

In addition to serving coffee and promoting advocacy, Anastasia and Katie's Coffee Shop has also been providing social opportunities for the community to get to know their neighbors at the corner coffee shop. "We've had five years of inclusive employment and during that time we've generated 8,400 paid work hours for people with disabilities, we've done a lot of connecting with the community by way of five summer socials in the courtyard where we've invited the community in to join us, we've had three classic car shows, the Good and Strong Club has been going for three years and last summer we had an event called Tunes and Lattes in the Afternoon where we had acoustic singers come into the courtyard in the evenings. So much has happened in five years, we've had a lot of tumultuous time in the world and I just feel like this is a place that gives hope," says Rockwell.

Anastasia and Katie's Coffee Shop & Café is located at 19215 Merriman Road, just north of Seven Mile Road. For more information or to find out about upcoming events, go to https://www.anastasiaandkatiescoffee.com/. For more information on Mi Work Matters, go to http://www.miworkmatters.org.