Story and photos by Joshua Phelps
The Scene staff
A t first glance, The Bloom Café looks like your typical restaurant, but it will offer much more than breakfast and lunch.
It will be a place where people with disabilities can gain job skills and build confidence with paid training and internships.
“We’re giving (them) the opportunity to get experience and to be ready for those hospitality jobs,” said Culinary Director Joe Wilson, 53, a Forest Park graduate.
The café opened March 21 at 5200 Oakland Ave., two doors east of campus. It’s a program of Paraquad, a nonprofit organization that serves people with disabilities.
“At the end of the day, we’re trying to create a more inclusive community,” said CEO Aimee Wehmeier, 47. “We know people with disabilities have many strengths and talents.”
The cafe’s floor-to-ceiling windows and spacious dining room create a bright and airy atmosphere.
It has handicap-accessible restrooms and wide hallways. The kitchen can accommodate people who use wheelchairs.
For the first two months, the cafe is being operated by able-bodied people. Managers will begin training eight to 12 employees with disabilities in June.
“We have a classroom and a training kitchen,” Wilson said.
“You get your book learning in the classroom, and you get your practice in the lab,” Wehmeier added, referring to the kitchen as a laboratory.
Paige Karius, 23, president of the Forest Park DisAbilities Club, thinks The Bloom Cafe is a wonderful idea.
“It’s a good thing for Paraquad to do, and it will give people with disabilities jobs,” she said.
Cafe hours are 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.
Menu items are displayed on a TV screen near the cash register. They include bagels, waffles, oatmeal, sandwiches and burritos for breakfast; and soups, salads, sandwiches, wraps and paninis for lunch.
A glass case is filled with cinnamon rolls, cookies and other desserts. To-go items such as premade sandwiches and yogurt are stacked neatly on a shelf.
Recent customers included Kara Schuele, 24, an occupational therapy student at Washington University.
“I think it’s great,” she said. “The past two times, I’ve been here to study, and it’s a really good environment.”
Schuele’s friends ordered food, while she stuck with coffee.
“The hazelnut latte is amazing,” she said. “I got it the second time. I came here with two other people last time, and they got the veggie wrap with a side of mac and cheese.”
Schuele said she highly recommends The Bloom Cafe.
Wehmeier, the CEO, was born with muscular dystrophy and uses a wheelchair. Operating a restaurant is a new endeavor for her.
“I know a lot about nonprofits,” she said. “I don’t know much about the restaurant industry, but I know that Joe does.”
Wehmeier pointed out that many people with disabilities have trouble finding jobs, mostly because they lack experience. That can cause financial hardship and keep them from living independently.
Cafe interns will learn about food preparation, customer service, sanitation practices, equipment operation and other job skills.
“We’re not just hiring people and getting them jobs here,” Wilson said. “The third stage (after training and internships) is getting them out on their own.
“We have a great employment department that’s going to help them be ready for an interview and get out and gain their own independence in the field.”
The Bloom Cafe can be reserved for private parties after 3:30 p.m. at no charge with food purchases. It also has a Garden Room for 20 people or fewer.
For more information, call 314-289-4234.