WEST ALLIS NEWS

Coffee shop in West Allis provides job opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities

Bob Dohr
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Kindly Coffee in West Allis isn't just another coffee shop.

Yes, you can purchase coffee, other drinks and food items. There's seating, and a big window that fills the space with lots of natural light. Customers can sign their name on a huge chalkboard on one of the interior walls. 

But the business at 1205 S. 70th St. also provides vocational opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities.

Sydney Tucker, who owns the business with her husband, Dujuan Cherry, said it's one of the shop's primary missions.

"Basically, I want to give people that have special needs jobs," Tucker said.

Some team members are volunteers, while others are paid.

"It's different for everyone," she said. The whole purpose is to employ or create opportunities for people with autism, Down syndrome, Fragile X or traumatic brain injuries.

"Those are the specific people that don't have enough opportunities, and we're trying to create opportunities for them," she said.

More:Hartland's Inclusion Coffee Co., set to open in March, will hire staff with special needs

Kindly Coffee was created to honor the memory of Tucker's sister 

It's a mission borne out of Tucker's relationship with her younger sister Emma, who had disabilities. Emma died three years ago. 

Tucker said the two would go on "sister dates" in their neighborhood where she would roll Emma around in her wheelchair and they'd take part in different activities.

"We'd go and we would just sit and color or do homework and just hang out together," Tucker said. "That was something that we could do that normal siblings did that I could share with my sister.

"She passed in 2019 when she was 16 years old, and I wanted to create something that was kind of in honor to her that was welcoming to everyone."

Sydney Tucker, owner of Kindly Coffee, serves customers Friday, Sept. 23, 2022, in West Allis, Wis.

It's a place that feels welcoming to Michael Daily of Oak Creek, a customer who works nearby and visits the coffee shop a couple times a week.

"We're treated really nicely when we come in here," Daily said. "I actually like the story behind why she opened this. We heard the story from her mom, who was here on the first day, as to why she opened this in the name of her sister. It's just a nice, friendly place."

Mayor says Kindly Coffee is a 'new neighborhood gathering place' 

West Allis Mayor Dan Devine called Kindly Coffee a unique, new neighborhood gathering place.

"Their mission of employing adults with disabilities adds a special quality to the business," Devine said in an email.

Devine said the shop also offers a "solid menu" of both hot and cold drinks.  

"I have had a few business meetings there, and their house blend coffee is amazing," he said.

Tucker said Kindly Coffee's second mission is to spread Emma's kindness and God's love.

She said she and Dujuan are Christian, but they want to be selective in how they portray that to people.

"People should see that Kindly Coffee is a welcoming space for everyone, no questions asked," she said. "Just because we are Christian does not mean you can't come here if you don't believe the same things as us."

Kacey Briggs, 25, center, brings Tanita Michell and Michael Daily their drinks at Kindly Coffee in West Allis. “I like to be here to serve the customers and help them,” Briggs said.

Employee Kacey Briggs has been with the shop since Kindly Coffee opened in June.

She said she enjoys making drinks for customers and said Tucker is a great boss.

Briggs said she liked it when a local news crew did a story about Kindly Coffee and she got to be on TV.

"My family was seeing me on TV," she said. "That was real fun."

The shop is looking to hire a manager so it can expand the staff 

Right now the shop has a staff of four: Briggs and another employee, along with Tucker and Cherry.

Tucker said they're looking to add more team members, but they need to hire a manager first because their former manager left for a different position.

"We do have a waiting list of people with different disabilities that want to come work here, and we've done some interviews, but we can't bring on more team members with disabilities until we have a manager to support them," she said.

Once a manager is hired, Sydney said they have about three people they're ready to hire "right now."

Kindly Coffee is currently open six days a week, 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. 

Contact Bob Dohr at 262-361-9140 or bob.dohr@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @BobDohr1.