ANNAPOLIS, Md — Bitty and Beau's Coffee on Dock Street in Annapolis is closing its doors, but 12 of its employees — many of whom have disabilities — are already landing new jobs thanks to local business owners who stepped in to help.
The coffee shop is one of the few businesses in the area that specifically hires people with disabilities. Its closure left employees and customers heartbroken.
"Very sad and very bombed," Madelyn Monzo said.
"I felt like heart broken that like I was going to cry like I didn't want to leave here because I made a lot of new friends," Erica Dilon said.
Two employees said they will miss working at the shop.
"My favorite part would be working here is making all of the drinks or doing like mixing up different flavors but my nick name is called mixie pixie," Erica Dilon said.
"All of the employees I work with I love so much," Madelyn Monzo said.
But with one door closing, another is opening. Eleven of the employees will go to work for Autumn Letendre at her various Abby Adams shops, and one is joining Storm Bros.
Letendre said as soon as she heard about the closure, she knew she had to act. The staff had a special place in her heart.
"I kept going back and kept going back and knew all of these team members by name so it was more than just a store closing, it was people and their jobs and relationships. It was a solution to be had not a closing to be talked about," Letendre said.
She said she hopes the move inspires more inclusive hiring across Annapolis.
"There are a lot of people who want to give back they don't know how and sometimes it is into the disability community but the reality is I don't even want to focus on disability I want to focus on their ability and who are team is going to be," Letendre said.
Erica Dilon and Madelyn Monzo said they are excited to learn new skills at their new jobs, but they will always miss their first job at Bitty and Beau's and the people they served over the years.
"Thank you for coming and experiencing the coffee shop with us," Dilon said.
Bitty and Beau's will officially close its doors on Sept. 13.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
