The story of 321 Coffee is one of love, inclusivity and growth. Founded by former NC State students seeking to provide employment to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), 321 Coffee is opening its first standalone coffee shop at 615 Hillsborough St. within the coming months.

With an existing storefront at the State Farmers Market, 321 Coffee welcomes visitors into an uplifting and cozy space as baristas take and prepare orders from a full-scale coffee and espresso menu. With the hot or iced coffee, decorations reminding you to “elevate others,” and smiles shared between customers and baristas, you’re sure to find something to brighten your day.

Between this location and a cafe at Pendo, a software company in Raleigh, 321 Coffee employs over 30 baristas who have IDD. The company has grown substantially since its inception in 2017, when two first-year students began to “think and do” something about a problem they saw in the community.

“We recognized that there was a significant lack of opportunity professionally for people with disabilities, and so that was really what we set out to change,” said Lindsay Wrege, co-founder and CEO of 321 Coffee. “We started originally as a student organization … with just renting folding tables from Talley and setting up and serving coffee really anywhere that would let us. … It’s just been really cool to see the number of ways the company’s evolved since the true folding table beginnings.”

As part of its evolution, 321 Coffee now roasts its own beans and supplies coffee to over 50 companies. In addition, the company also sells packaged coffee and merchandise online. Through its shops and roasting operations, 321 Coffee has found many ways to expand employment for individuals with IDD, but there’s still room to grow.

“We get so many people coming to us looking for employment,” Wrege said. “We’ve got a waitlist that grows every day. Over 50 people are on it, people in the community who want a job and want a job at 321 Coffee. It’s bittersweet. I’m really proud that we’ve built a company and a culture where people want to work … but at the same time, it’s sad that we aren’t able to create those jobs quite yet. So that’s one of the things that we’re excited about as we grow is to just create more job opportunities.”

With the addition of the new storefront, 321 Coffee has identified increasing working hours for current staff and adding new members as a priority. Sitting in a courtyard near the intersection of Hillsborough Street and Glenwood Avenue, the cafe is at a prime location to enter the downtown Raleigh market. 

“The shop at the Farmers Market is open five days a week, Wednesday through Sunday,” Wrege said. “We’ll see a little bit of a different traffic pattern at the downtown shop. We plan to be open seven days a week. I think we’ll see pretty steady days on the weekdays, Monday through Friday, just with all of the office activity that exists right there.”

Aside from business, the new location will also increase community engagement between employees and customers alike.

“I think really becoming ingrained in the downtown Raleigh community … [is] something that everyone’s really looking forward to,” said Michael Evans, co-founder and CFO of 321 Coffee. “[It] could just be a spot where people are always able to go and be a part of our 321 Coffee community.”

According to Wrege and Evans, the company plans to continue expanding 321 Coffee through more company partnerships and the possibility of an additional shop in the Triangle area. No matter the next steps, 321 Coffee will continue to do what it does best: uplifting others one job, and one coffee at a time.

“We’re just excited to give the baristas especially more of a chance to dive deeper into the community,” said Taylor Coletta, a manager at the 321 Coffee Farmers Market location. “I feel like a lot of neurotypical people don’t expect [the baristas] to be able to like, converse with them. They don’t expect them to be able to make their coffee. And so it’s just really cool to watch as the communities combine.”

The new space is currently under renovation to prepare for opening in mid-to-late spring 2022. With roughly the same size footprint as the farmers market location, customers can expect a similar shop experience but with plenty of outdoor seating to gather and converse in.

Until then, spirits at 321 Coffee will remain high, per usual.

“I like when you open and we have more work opportunities to do at the new location,” said Amanda Singer, a barista at 321 Coffee. “321 Coffee is one of my favorite shops. A lot of the [other] baristas who work here, they help me so much. They helped me do the steamer, they just taught me how to use it, and I realized I really love doing this.”