Sure, coffee lovers come to Bitty & Beau’s for steaming lattes and frothy cappuccinos, but they’re equally drawn in by the café’s mission. Realizing a need for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) to find employment and purpose, Amy and Ben Wright opened their coffee shop — named for their two youngest children, who have Down syndrome — in January 2016, employing 19 workers with IDD. Today, folks congregate, chat, and hold meetings at tables, a wood-slab bar, banquettes, a lounge area with sofas, and even a glass-enclosed conference community room, all of which is overseen daily by Amy and a rotating, cheerful crew of 40.
Matt, the 28-year-old designated “Giver of First Impressions” and tour director, points out the U.S. map featuring pins indicating the origins of Bitty & Beau’s visitors — North Carolina is one big red blob — plus the Post-its from France, Thailand, and other far-flung locales. At Bitty & Beau’s, fellowship, inclusivity, and valuing everyone’s capabilities creates community, one cuppa at a time, and that’s garnered national interest: In 2017, Amy was named CNN’s Hero of the Year. In her acceptance speech, she spoke directly to her children: “I would not change you for the world, but I will change the world for you.”
Bitty & Beau’s Coffee
4949 New Centre Drive
Wilmington, NC 28403
(910) 769-1252
bittyandbeauscoffee.com
In North Carolina, spring brings the scent of fresh-cut grass and memories of helping Dad mow the lawn.
Nostalgic burger joints are like time machines, delivering something extra special that keeps us coming back.
This tiny city block in downtown Greensboro once had a gigantic reputation. Not so much for its charbroiled beef patties — though they, too, were plentiful — but for its colorful characters and their wild shenanigans.
In the 1950s, as Americans hit freshly paved roads in shiny new cars during the postwar boom, a new kind of restaurant took shape: the drive-in. From those first thin patties to the elaborate gourmet hamburgers of today, North Carolina has spent the past 80 years making burger history.
