JOURNAL ARTICLE

The Founders of Bitty & Beau’s Coffee on Building a Business Around Employees with Disabilities.

  • Published In: Harvard Business Review, 2023, v. 101, n. 3. P. 33 1 of 3

  • Database: Business Source Ultimate 2 of 3

  • Authored By: Wright, Amy; Wright, Ben 3 of 3

Abstract

This article focuses on Bitty & Beau's Coffee, a coffee shop chain founded in 2015 in Wilmington, North Carolina, with the mission of employing people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Inspired by the founders’ children who have Down syndrome, the business aims to address the high unemployment rate among people with disabilities by providing meaningful work and fostering community inclusion. Since opening its first location, Bitty & Beau's has expanded to 17 locations across 11 states and the District of Columbia, employing over 400 people with disabilities, and has begun franchising to scale its model. The founders advocate for broader inclusion of people with disabilities in the workforce as a competitive advantage and encourage other businesses to adopt similar practices to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Additional Information

  • Source:Harvard Business Review. 2023/05, Vol. 101, Issue 3, p33
  • Document Type:Article
  • Subject Area:Social Sciences and Humanities
  • Publication Date:2023
  • ISSN:0017-8012
  • Accession Number:162966598
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