Coffee roaster partnership creates employment opportunities for adults with disabilities

Coffee roasting is a big business for Metropolis Coffee Co., the state’s largest specialty roaster.

The work is done primarily by hand, which gives the Avondale-based company the ability to provide jobs for adults with developmental disabilities.

Metropolis’ Aspire CoffeeWorks program provided part-time work to adults with disabilities through Hillside-based nonprofit Aspire.

The partnership is not only a great way to provide paid work for program employees, managers say. It’s also a way to show that businesses can succeed by employing people of all abilities, said Katie Filippini, director of Aspire CoffeeWorks.

About 78% of adults with disabilities were unemployed last year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Aspire CoffeeWorks provides work for five adults at the Metropolis roastery, located in an industrial area not far from the Chicago River.

Aspire employees weigh the beans, apply labels and seal the bags close to where the beans are roasted by full-time Metropolis employees, who produce more than a million pounds of coffee per year.

“They work shoulder to shoulder with us,” said Anne Djerai, CEO of Metropolis.

All profits from CoffeeWorks sales go to Aspire, she said.

At the roastery recently, three of his employees packaged coffee and applied labels to the bags with photos of their own faces. The majority of their coffee is sold to downtown businesses for use in the office.

When employees are not working at the roastery, they are participating in sales tours as “brand ambassadors” or undergoing job training at Aspire’s Hillside headquarters.

Some of the work is about training, but for others it’s a career opportunity.

One of the standout figures in the program is Bridget Gholston, who started working in the Aspire program 13 years ago and was later hired to work full-time at Metropolis.

Gholston was in his office Wednesday morning printing labels. She didn’t see herself working in the cafe when she started.

“I hated the smell of coffee,” she said. “I had to work here to understand the smell.”

Before her career in coffee, she cleaned buildings using an Aspire program. Working with coffee now becomes natural. She no longer notices the smell.

“I can probably do this in my sleep,” Gholston said.

René Ruano, an employee of Aspire CoffeeWorks since 2019, appreciates the sense of community.

“The one thing I love doing here is working alongside a great group of friends,” he said.

The partnership began about 15 years ago when Aspire approached local roasters with the idea for CoffeeWorks, Filippini said. Aspire was looking for a partnership because it is difficult to go into the coffee roasting business alone. The equipment is prohibitively expensive, Filippini said.

Metropolis co-owner Tony Dreyfuss was also looking to “do something with people with disabilities because it’s close to his heart,” Djerai said.

The partnership has remained strong. Since 2009, Metropolis has roasted 201,000 pounds of coffee for Aspire CoffeeWorks, Djerai said.

In addition to selling coffee for a good cause, CoffeeWorks helps its business customers strengthen its diversity initiatives, Filippini said. It also gives them the opportunity to volunteer with Aspire and participate in its annual gala, which this year honors Metropolis for its partnership with coffee.

CoffeeWorks targets a niche in the coffee market, supplying directly to city center offices. When the pandemic lockdown in 2020 moved work online and employees worked from home, Aspire sales fell 80%.

“Overnight, our sales dropped to almost zero,” Filippini said.

Sales returned to near pre-pandemic levels as office occupancy rates increased and Aspire refined its marketing pitch to other offices.

Aspire is looking to tap into the bank office and developer market, Filippini said. It also involves selling coffee gift sets, which businesses buy to give away at events or during the holidays.

At its heart, Aspire CoffeeWorks “is an example to show the world how successful you can be when your nonprofit and your business come together,” Filippini said.

“It’s not just about jobs for people with disabilities,” she said, “it’s about the whole workplace, the whole environment is really richer, better and stronger when everyone works together.”