Hot coffee and happy hearts at new inclusive cafe

A local cafe is giving young adults in Windsor with developmental differences a chance to work and meet the community.

Capaz Cafe opened at 1501 Howard Ave. to serve coffee, candies and baked goods to the Windsor community.

“Come in and enjoy their presence,” said owner Lucy Corpeno-Croteau about how she would like to see the community embrace the new business. “It’s about accepting them, loving them and seeing them in a different light then society has seen them throughout the years.”

The cafe is within the Accelerator building, a 55,000 square foot facility which focuses on giving local businesses a place to work and develop business plans.

A 2012 survey from Statistics Canada put the population of individuals with developmental differences 15 years or older at 0.6 per cent. This would mean roughly 1400 individuals in Windsor have a developmental difference.

Corpeno-Croteau said most young adults with developmental disabilities do not leave high school until they are around 21.

One of the workers at the opening event was Maygan Sidi, 22, who worked the cash register. She said while she loves working at the cafe it’s almost not a job since she gets to help people have a great time.

“It’s so nice to meet people and to open up this awesome thing,” Sidi said. “People can come in and talk for awhile, sit and enjoy it.”

The opening of the store even drew in members of federal and provincial government. MP Brian Masse and MPP Lisa Gretsky both presented the cafe with certificates to acknowledge their work towards helping inclusiveness within the city.

Even the police force came out for a coffee run — Senior Const. Cealia Gagnon of the Windsor Police Service came in to congratulate the staff and get a cup of coffee on the cold morning.

“The coffee’s good,” Gagnon said. “I’m really excited to see how they are at work. I can already see they’re busy now and the fact they’re learning new skills is a happy day for me.”

To find out more you can visit the cafe’s Facebook page. The store is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday.