The Autism Coffee Connection

Since Starbucks opened its first store in Seattle in 1971, coffee shops have become a staple in nearly every city. In Berkeley, California there are approximately 59 coffee shops, resulting in one coffee shop for every 2,000+ residents, which is a higher ratio than Seattle. New York City has more coffee shops per capita than any other American city.

When I read those numbers, I naturally thought to myself how do they all stay in business? How does each coffee shop or chain distinguish itself from its competitors?

Katie Jenkins, Owner and Executive Director of Grace Therapy Center and Stir, has taken a thoughtful approach to business competition and growth. Grace Therapy Center is a clinic for children with autism and other developmental differences that Katie started in 2021.

Now with three locations, Grace Therapy Clinic offers applied behavior analysis therapy (otherwise known as ABA) for indiividual children, children in social groups and at summer camps.

Of all the positioning possibilities you could imagine for opening a coffee shop, tieing it to a series of specialty autism clinics isn't something even the folks at Starbucks or coffee shops in California or New York have thought of. But that's exactly what Katie Jenkins is doing with Stir Cofffee House on Airline Highway here in Baton Rouge. Stir employs Katie's child clients who mature and are old enough to join the workforce.

The coffee industry is responsible for more than 2.2 million U.S. jobs and generates more than $100 billion in wages per year. 

Over the years, we’ve had several guests on Out to Lunch who have contributed to the coffee industry’s success locally. By providing job opportunities at Stir to those who might struggle to find traditional work because of their intellectual and developmental disabilities, Katie Jenkins is not only contributing to the coffee industry’s success in Baton Rouge but she's providing invaluable work and life experiences for her clients at Grace Therapy Center. 

Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at Mansurs on the Boulevard. You can find photos from this show by  Ian Ledo and Miranda Albarez at itsbatonrouge.com.

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