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Walking through the door of the Chase Coffee Roaster, you can smell the rich aroma of home roasted coffee filling the air. But even more distinctive is the warm welcome from baristas who are passionate about their skills, as well as breaking the barriers of the workforce.
Fullerton Café actively hires people with disabilities and provides a space where jobs and employees can feel supported and empowered, said owner Anthony Palmeli.
Palmeli, a former special education teacher, said he took it to himself to help students embark on the workforce.
“I realized that we needed an environment and a business like this, and that’s why I created it,” Palmeli said.
After working as a teacher for 10 years at Woodbridge High School in Irvine, and then roasting coffee in his garage at the same time, Palmeli founded a business that empowered people despite his disability.
80% of Chase Coffee Roaster workers are former Palmeli students.
One of the baristas, Joseph Barboza spends the day striking conversations with customers and makes his favorite iced tea. Barboza also shared why making good friends with customers makes him love his job.
“The Chase Coffee Roaster is more than just a coffee shop,” Barboza said. “I think Chase Coffee Roasters are extremely important to all of us because they can teach people, with or without disabilities, to find the right job and achieve their goals in life. It’s a place where we can enjoy ourselves and learn to be in a family-friendly environment.”
To facilitate work tasks, Palmeli has developed an entire visual support system to assist baristas. This includes a POS system with a menu with photos, step-by-step recipe cards and image-based prompts.
“For example, it’s harmony hummus, and then an explanation of them,” Palmeli said, giving a visual recipe that includes detailed instructions, featuring toast, hummus, cucumber and feta.
The owner also said patience and compassion are key to creating a safe and inclusive environment.
“We do a lot of video modeling and iteration,” he added.
But for many employees, this is the first time they interact with many people every day. Those struggling with social clues and engagement have a cue card next to the cash register and will assist them with these exchanges.
Speed can also be a challenge for some workers. Palmeli said his employee was fired from his previous job at a chain coffee shop.
“Not here… you can work as slowly as you like here as long as things work,” emphasized Palmeli. “If we fail or you ruin it and spill a drink, that’s fine. The whole point is to learn.”
Joseph Barboza and Chase Touma work as baristas at Chase Coffee Roasters
No other employees had ever worked before joining the Chase Coffee Roaster.
“After school, many of them were sitting at home, not only really wanting to work,” Palmeli said. “From zero social interactions to over 100 a day, I’ve seen a lot of growth with Chase. He’s grown so much and I’m very proud of him.”
Palmeli also created the Chase Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports professional and independent living skills for individuals over the age of 22.
“We are trying to get our independent living skills, vocational skills and students to do their job with me or in the community of their choice,” he said.
To many locals, Palmeli’s mission may sound familiar. A coffee roaster was made in front of the Chase coffee roaster. After a friendly split with his business partner, Palmeli knew that the story would not end there.
“When coffee was made, we had a lot of support, so we were growing a lot with it. I had to start over again with people who understood what my mission was,” he said.
The owner said there was no doubt about the name on the front of the building. The Chase Coffee Roaster is named after Chase Tsuma, the first employee to be disabled when Palmeli was still on a capable coffee roaster.
“I didn’t name it after a coffee shop, I named it after a friend, and he illustrates everything.
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