Community rallies behind Palo Alto cafe that hires people with disabilities

Cafe that hires people with disabilities is on brink of closure

A Palo Alto cafe that hires people with disabilities is in danger of closing due to the pandemic

PALO ALTO, Calif. - A cafe on the Peninsula that helps employ people with disabilities is in need of some help itself. Ada’s Café in Palo Alto, like so many businesses. is struggling to survive because of the pandemic.

Ada’s Café gives people of all abilities a chance to work and thrive. Described as the soul of Palo Alto, community members are stepping up to make sure the asset does not go away.

The sounds of making a hot cup of joe are gone from the cafe. Situated in Mitchell Community Park, across from a library that’s no longer driving foot traffic, the cafe is closed for now.

"Our sales have been down about 80%, and it's expensive and complicated, and some of our employees didn't want to come to work because of the rising incidences of COVID," said Kathleen Foley-Hughes, Ada’s founder and executive director.

Foley-Hughes founded Ada’s six years ago as part of a bigger mission to hire people of all abilities. Her inspiration is personal after having premature twins. One of them, Charlie is developmentally disabled. He works at the cafe.

"It means that I have a job," he said. "It is a job that I love, yes."

It’s not just work, but employees are empowered and they have real connection with the community.

"Of course I miss everybody and the highlight of my work days are seeing all the regular customers," said employee Todd Cerf.

COVID-19 has caused the eatery to scale back from 50 employees to six.

It was on the brink of closing, that's until Kathleen’s friends, regulars at the café, stepped in.

"I love the community here," said Alexia Krispin of Palo Alto. "I love the people here."

They set up an online auction where people can bid on an array of items. The goal is $250,000. So far, it’s raised $40,000. It’s money that’s keeping paychecks coming for employees.

"This is truly the most marginalized community," said Firoozeh Dumas of Palo Alto. "The employees here can't just pivot and go find other jobs."

For Foley-Hughes, the generosity is overwhelming.

"This work is wonderfully meaningful,’ she said. "It’s emotional and I’m incredibly grateful."

Who knew giving could taste so good? The hope is to make it through this year and be part of the community as they've always been.

Ada’s Cafe hopes to re-open once the stay at home order is lifted.