Any café can serve up a cup of coffee. But what if your morning brew came with a genuine smile? What if that small purchase changed the life of the person serving it to you? That’s not only possible, but it’s I’m Possible.
The I’m Possible Café in Pine Brook is the dream of Joe and Paulette Rude. Their son, Garrett, has Down Syndrome. They wanted to create a place where kids, like Garrett, who have so much to offer, could be employed in a supportive environment. Joe explained, “We frequent a place called the Compassion Café in LBI, and that place started about five years ago. They started with ten employees and have grown to like 90. We reached out, and they shared their business plan with us, and two years ago, we met with Ryan.”
Ryan Olohan is the owner of Seven Scoops & Sips, an ice cream store lovingly named after his seven children. He offered the use of his ice cream store in the mornings to host the café. “He had already heard of the Compassion Café and was always so supportive. He was like, ‘Don’t worry about it, guys, you can do this.’”
And what about the café name? “I had read a story a while back about a photographer named Jeremy Cowart who conceptualized The Purpose Hotel in Nashville. The hotel focused on helping others, with everything from room decor to nightly rates benefiting various causes. That stayed on my inspiration board, and several years later, I’m Possible was born.”
With a warm reception from the community, each week brings more customers. “The weekends are definitely busier. We’ve had schools come in, and businesses. We’re thankful to have our first corporate sponsor, Stryker, and hope to find more that would like to support us,” Joe explained.
What’s most important is that the kids have a purpose and feel good about themselves, and this is accomplished in the café. “They go and tell everyone they really got a job. They’re running into family members around town, and we hear how amazing it is for them. A woman came in last week with her daughter, and she was so excited that they could work with her daughter’s feeding therapist here, outside of the home.”
And their commitment shows. Joe said, “We have one kid who is our head barista, Patrick, who works every Saturday. He was away last weekend, and he told me he was up at 6 a.m. because he was wondering how we were doing without him. We also have Kathleen, who works the register and does our social media posts. They have such dedication.”
The I’m Possible Café also serves Café Joyeux coffee, which originates from a café in France that started in 2017 and employs individuals with special needs. They now have over 20 locations internationally, with their newest in New York City.
Are there more locations planned for the I’m Possible Café? “We love being here; this is an amazing location, and three days a week is perfect for us. Could there be more at some point? Maybe!”
Visit https://www.im-possiblecafe.org/ for more information.