❤️☕️ Welcome to Café Joyeux

French entrepreneur Yann Bucaille-Lanreza can remember the exact moment Theodore, a young boy on the autism spectrum, asked him for a job.

They were on a cruise for people with special needs, when the eager young man popped the question to Yann. "You don’t understand," said a determined Theodore, "I know I have a disability that can be useful. I want to have a job like you.”

That was the first spark of a chain reaction. Yann couldn't seem to get that conversation with Theodore out of his head. He realized this community of people needed more than just a cruise vacation; they needed opportunities to thrive in the real world. 

• Thus, Café Joyeux was born. It's a bustling coffee shop and cafe founded by Yann that solely recruits individuals with cognitive and intellectual disabilities, giving opportunities to those who otherwise might not have them. 
• The latest location in the chain just opened in New York City's Upper East Side on World Down Syndrome Day.

Yann has been blown away by his employee's dedication, drive, and gratitude for their jobs. “They [the intellectually disabled community] are capable. We want to show to the world that it’s possible,” he told the NY Post. “It’s to have them be part of society, be part of the game, have a role to play.”

• For many of the employees, Café Joyeux is their first job. They are all cross-trained for multiple positions, including cashiers, servers, baristas and dishwashers.
• One thing that general manager Shray Campbell has noticed is her team's excitement and eagerness to come to work every day. Many of them have never been given a chance like this before, and Café Joyeux has provided them with independence and some financial freedom.
•  “They want to work so hard,” she shared. “So you want to help them and we always make new goals for them so they’re learning new things.

🥹 Bottom line: The ultimate goal of the business is to shift society’s perspective on disabilities, per the NY Post – and Yann believes the Big Apple is the place to do that. “New York is the city of success, the city of pride, the city of diversity,” he said, adding that many different people come in for coffee and “we can prove to them that it’s possible.”