35
2012 Kenilworth Lane
$615,000
1148 Turnberry Lane
$835,000
2105 Spanish Wells Drive
$879,000
1825 Vincennes Place
$505,000
2404 Ocean Point Place
$719,000
713 Windswept Place
$839,000
www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com WBM
GRANT is Grant Smith,
one of Lauren’s co-workers.
He dances
to “Can’t Stop the
Feeling!” by Justin
Timberlake, raises his hands, claps to
the beat and disco points in between
greeting customers and taking an
occasional seat in the chair provided
for him.
From Down syndrome to cerebral
palsy to autism, disabilities are trans-formed
into abilities. Bitty & Beau’s
is a place where enthusiasm greets
customers at the door, and simple
modifications like resting in a chair
when fatigued and using playing
cards instead of names normalize the
experience for both the employee
and patron.
“It is not a typical workplace,” says
Maddie Ashcraft, one of the manag-ers.
“Every day there are challenges.
The benefits far outweigh the chal-lenges.
The challenges present areas
of growth, bonds that are formed
with each other. A lot of skills are
learned in the hard moments; we use
them as teaching moments.”
The business was founded by Ben
and Amy Wright, who, before open-ing
the first coffee shop, were work-ing
to facilitate employment place-ment
of individuals with IDD.
“I formed the nonprofit ABLE to
Work USA in January 2015 as basi-cally
a data bank of people who were
looking for jobs and then employers
that were looking to hire somebody
with IDD,” Amy Wright explains.
Top: Cape Fear Community College
students meet for a study session
while other customers line up to order
at Bitty & Beau’s Coffee shop in June
2017. Bottom: Matt Dean high fives
with manager Maddie Ashcraft. Matt
1241 Arboretum Drive
1526 Landalee Lane
Dean with his arm around manager
$975,000
$998,500
Kelly Skinner with Joann Dixon (front)
and Jackie Colton (back). 1720 Drysdale Drive • 910-256-6111 • www.landfallrealty.com
PHOTOS BY ALLISON POTTER