Article by Sarah Shockey

On the quaint and quiet South Main Street in Elmer, New Jersey, just steps away from historic Route 40 in Salem County, lies the Inclusion Coffee Shop. Tucked away in the end unit of an old home, Owner Amanda Vellon and her staff have been serving their barista creations, sweet baked goods, and artisan sandwiches to community residents since April 2022.

While from the outside it appears that Inclusion Coffee Shop is just like any ordinary local hot spot, its larger purpose sets it apart. Many of Vellon’s staff have special needs, a characteristic that for many other job-age people has proven to be a setback. 

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy, 6.3% of disabled people over the age of 16 were unemployed in January 2024, compared to a 3.9% unemployment rate for those who were not.

In modern-day capitalist America, it’s a set doctrine that a person cannot survive long without a job. For those not born into exceptional wealth, having a set form of income is how people build their livelihoods–a necessary salary that many with special needs struggle to find. 

Besides financial stability, jobs also provide employees with life skills that extend beyond the confines of their workplace, including professional etiquette, problem-solving skills, and socialization with strangers– something unemployed disabled people lack when they aren’t allowed to experience the atmosphere of a work environment.

Instead of treating special needs as a turnoff for employment, Vellon embraces these differences. This foundational ideology is ever present upon walking up to the entrance of the shop, with the motto: “What makes you different is what makes you so beautiful” pasted on the door, highlighting the space’s core belief of inclusivity of all people and the strengths they bring to the working world.

“It [inclusivity] needs to be a normal way of life because this is our world and we have a world of differences. When we try to segregate somebody with special needs and put them in their own group that is not helping them in any way. They need to be promoted and put on the front lines just like you and I would be at Wawa if we worked on the register…” Vellon said. “They [special needs people] bring so much positivity, joy, and importance to any workplace. They follow all the rules, they make sure everything is done the exact way and they’re the hardest workers we have. I think it’s just so important for us to make it as normal as possible.”

Vellon grew up in Vineland and previously worked full time as a sales executive for an employment firm. She and her husband Tito had three children, Natalya, Giotto, and Milania. In 2020, Vellon found out she was pregnant with her fourth child, her youngest son Rome. After recovering from Covid-19 while 32 weeks pregnant, her midwife suggested she go in for an ultrasound to check up on both herself and the baby.

“I had to go in for an ultrasound because I had caught Covid and my midwife had mentioned that they do not have enough information on a pregnant woman who gets it. How is this gonna affect me? How’s it going to affect the baby? So, we went and I was by myself and got the ultrasound,” Vellon said. 

At that appointment, she got a very disheartening and unexpected diagnosis from doctors: Rome had Tetralogy of Fallot, a rare heart defect.

“It [the diagnosis] was definitely an overwhelming amount of emotions. Everything was fine, I felt fine and then out of nowhere, they immediately rushed to shut off the lights and they had to bring doctors in and look further into things and they found a heart defect,” Vellon said. “I was then considered high risk. The baby was at risk. I had to be completely monitored from 32 weeks until I delivered twice a week and it was extremely overwhelming. I was scared. I was sad. I had so much fear. I was angry because I felt like why me? You know, what did I do to deserve this? And again, being by yourself, it was just playing out so scary. And I just felt really sad for my baby that I can’t see, I can’t feel, I can’t hold while he’s going through all of these things. Nothing was wrong with me but health-wise he was in such bad shape.”

Two days later at an appointment with pediatric cardiologists, doctors found an atrioventricular defect in Rome’s heart, a diagnosis that increases the risk for children to develop Down Syndrome or other genetic disorders.

“They [doctors] did an echocardiogram and found an atrioventricular canal defect. So, I definitely didn’t get any closure from that appointment and it just made me feel even more scared,” Vellon said.

On May 11, 2021, baby Rome was born. Shortly after on the same day, Vellon’s fears were also confirmed to be true–he had Down Syndrome. While this pill was a hard one to swallow, she didn’t let this new reality knock her down but rather inspired her to help others. So, just over a year later on April 15, 2022, Vellon opened Inclusion Coffee Shop, a place with the mission of celebrating the beauty that lies in being different.

“So they [my kids] keep me very busy. He’s [Rome] definitely a major surprise in many ways, but he is the inspiration behind this whole thing for sure,” Vellon said.

The small cafe, located at 119 South Main Street in Elmer, resides in the space where previously another coffee shop was, but it closed after the owners retired. That’s where Vellon stepped in and brought one back to the town but with a bigger purpose.

Inclusion Coffee Shop employs special needs people to fill all roles around the shop including greeters, servers, and cashiers, allowing them to work in a system that accommodates their needs rather than discriminate against them. 

“I’ve always wanted to own my own restaurant. Maybe opening a coffee shop and kind of getting my feet wet and seeing how that would feel but then as we went through the opening process, I was like, wait, we’re going to do this but with a bigger purpose,” Vellon said. “We’re going to have a mission and we’re not just going to be a coffee shop. We’re going to be a coffee shop that inspires and promotes differences. I didn’t always say I wanted to open a coffee shop all my life. I wanted to own a restaurant cafe but this was available and we needed it to be back open in town and also I just wanted to spread that awareness.”

For employee Anthony Tarquinio, 31, he loves his job and his favorite part is getting to stack the cups by the coffee station. He also loves getting to hang out with his coworkers, spreading his loving personality with anyone he comes in contact with.

“I love everyone here,” Tarquinio said.

His friend Dylan Saunders, 32, a volunteer at the coffee shop, says his favorite part is getting to be the cashier and talking about Harry Potter, sharing his pride of being a Gryffindor with Tarquinio and fellow Potterheads he meets on the job.

“I love coffee and I also love getting to work as a cashier this year,” Saunders said.

Inclusion Coffee Shop is open Monday through Friday from 8-3 p.m. and weekends from 8-2 p.m. It looks to grow even bigger than the minimal space they have right now and Vellon hopes to one day open a bigger full-service cafe for lunch and dinner. Highlighting the importance of inclusivity, Inclusion Coffee Shop truly lives up to its name– creating a place where all people, regardless of their abilities, are welcome and can be authentically themselves. 

This is why it’s so important for Vellon to keep growing her business, providing a place for people like her son Rome to be guaranteed a job. Looking at their differences not as a dealbreaker, but rather as a unique selling point.

“There’s so many other businesses like us, but it needs to be out there,” Vellon said.  “It [disability inclusivity] needs to be more normalized. The importance of having somebody with such a beautiful difference needs to be in front of everybody.”