Coffee Uniting People (CUP) will open in March on South Dale Mabry in Tampa.
Courtesy of Kaitlyn Bock
By Kaitlyn Bock
A new, inclusive coffee shop will open in March to give a secure job for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Coffee Uniting People (CUP) is a nonprofit coffee house, the first of its kind in the Tampa Bay area. The restaurant is currently under construction at 3408 S Dale Mabry Highway, about 30 minutes from the University of South Florida Tampa campus.
“Tampa has been amazing. They have all come together to financially help us,” Stephanie Williams, CUP’s manager, said. “I am hoping that not only will they financially help us with the beginning part, but they will continue to support financially and also come in and see what these kids have to offer.”
Community support helped CUP from the start. Fundraising and local support has allowed them to fully fund their brick-and-mortar location.
CUP started the construction of their first location on Jan. 30. Now, the coffee shop is working on training baristas.
Greg Jones founded CUP in October of 2021 with the main goal of providing job opportunities for people of all abilities in the Tampa area.
“The ultimate goal is to provide jobs and employment opportunities for individuals of all abilities not just intellectual and developmental ones,” Jones said.
The mission of CUP is all about inclusion, acceptance and opportunity for everyone.
Jones brought on Williams as the manager of CUP to do the hiring, training and to help with behind the scenes work to get the shop up and running.
While construction is underway, CUP baristas are training at 22nd Street Coffee in Tampa, serving coffee at Bayshore Baptist Church on Sundays and Wednesdays and attending other fundraising events around the community.
As the baristas wait for the shop to open, Williams is training them to pour coffee, make specialty drinks, warm up food and clean tables.
Courtesy of Coffee Uniting People
Jordan Hurst, 28, was brought onto the CUP team in August of 2022. Hurst previously worked at the Tampa Aquarium where he cleaned tables and helped guests find their way around the exhibits.
Hurst said his favorite thing to do as a CUP barista is to help customers and “get coffee.” He likes working at CUP because he “likes helping people.” Hurst also said that his smile helps make people “feel good.”
After the age of 22, there are not many options for people with disabilities to learn life skills or even advance in the real world, said Williams. CUP is helping its employees learn those life skills that will help now as well as in future jobs and careers.
“My end goal is that they won’t all stay at CUP,” Williams said. “I am hoping that the community sees what they have to offer.”
Maggie Mahon, 26-year-old barista, said that working at CUP will help her “work on [her]sitting habit” so she is better prepared for future careers that require more standing.
For Mahon, CUP is an opportunity for her to “be independent,” “more outgoing” and “stand up more.”
Mahon said that CUP is different from her previous jobs because “it’s a paying job; it’s not like an internship” and “making that money” is one of her favorite parts about working at CUP.
CUP provides people with disabilities the opportunity to have a stable, paying job, which for many of them could be their first experience.
“My favorite part is seeing the potential that they all have and knowing that they have so much to give and I am hoping that the community realizes how much they have to give,” Williams said.
As a nonprofit, CUP uses everything it earns or fundraises and puts it back into the organization and special needs community. The organization hopes to reinvest everything it can into furthering its employees lives by providing them with these unique opportunities.
A goal of CUP is to have a volunteer barista system once their first location is up and running. The organization hopes to have abled people sign up to volunteer and be paired with one of the baristas, so the money they make from the coffee shop can be put back into the special needs community.
For more information and updates on the grand opening of CUP, visit CoffeeUnitingPeople.org.
