Bitty & Beau’s: More Than a Coffee Shop

Step inside a café where every cup supports a larger mission of community and connection

By Amanda McCracken  »  Photos by Matt Ray

If you’re looking for a way to invest in more than just a cup of good coffee, stop in at Bitty & Beau’s Coffee on 15th and Pearl. There you’ll find a model work environment that exemplifies what it means to support its employees and curate life purpose.

This fall Bitty & Beau’s celebrated its one-year anniversary at its 1468 Pearl Street location. In 2016, Amy and Ben Wright started the first Bitty & Beau’s, named after their two children with Down syndrome, in their hometown of Wilmington, North Carolina. Their goal was to develop a work environment that allowed individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (congenital or acquired) to build value in themselves and develop meaningful connections with their communities. Their motivation for creating such a place stemmed from learning how 80% of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities are unemployed nationwide. 

Bitty & Beau’s motto is, “It’s more than a cup of coffee, it’s a human rights movement.” Today, there are 19 cafes around the country, with Boulder’s being the western most, and they support over 450 employees. 

 “Everybody’s pretty welcoming here. So, I feel like Pearl Street is a good place to be,” says barista Bella Larsen, a 2012 Fairview graduate. 

While she’s cross-trained at Bitty & Beau’s in various positions, she’s found her work as a barista a great outlet for her artistic talents. One of her favorite moments she recalls being giving a young customer with Down syndrome a “future employee” button.

Larsen’s mother Lisa Larsen says her daughter comes home beaming after connecting with individuals in the community. “She knows the regulars. She knows their drinks. It’s just added another layer of enrichment to her life.” 

Larsen highlights the apron ceremony as one example where employees are honored in meaningful ways. After applying and interviewing for her position, Bella gathered with others in a local park and was presented with an apron to welcome her as part of Bitty & Beau’s team of employees.

According to U.S. Census Bureau data, 5.8% of Boulder County’s population under the age of 65 identified as having a disability—defined as serious difficulty with hearing, vision, cognition or ambulation—between 2018-2022. That’s almost 19,000 people.

“This is not a job that was set up by neurotypical people for neurotypical people that my daughter has to adjust her being to fit into. This is a job that is developed for people with disabilities so they can be who they are and have their natural skills and their natural way of being honored,” says Lisa.

She attributes some of her daughter’s valuable experience to Julia and Jeff Fetzer who are Boulder’s Bitty & Beau franchise owners. “They are respectful and kind and patient and clear, and they totally believe in and support their employees like 200%,” she says.

For Nolan Ramsey, a 2020 Centaurus graduate and current student at Flatirons College, his cashier position at Bitty & Beau’s was his first paying job. Like many of his Bitty & Beau’s teammates, Ramsey went through Boulder Valley School District’s Transitions Program that provides individuals with disabilities the opportunity to gain job skills through volunteer positions. 

Ramsey was born with a rare genetic disorder called Hurler’s syndrome. “People with disabilities that have been down on themselves their entire life come into our shop and are like, ‘Oh, there is a place for me, and I can actually work and be me,’” says Ramsey. 

“It always gets me when kids in wheelchairs come in because for the longest time I was in a wheelchair. There was a time in my life where I wasn’t able to walk at all. And I was like, I’m never gonna work. And now, I’m able to walk and I’m working,” says Ramsey, who loves when customers sit at the bar to chat.

Barista Leo Rios, a 2023 Fairview graduate, describes the people he works with as inspiring and encouraging.  “They’re always believing we can do this. And that’s the kind of place I would always want to stay and the people I want to spend time with. That coffee place is the only place that makes me feel special,” says Rios, who memorized the entire recipe book. 

Bitty & Beau’s is involved in catering at local events like the Bolder Boulder, bike-to-work week, the Christmas parade, various street fairs and the Munchkin Masquerade 

“A lot of people ask, ‘How can we be a part of this?’” says Ramsey. “And knowing that more people want to be with us, I know we’re going to grow and become so much more. Hence, we’re more than just a coffee shop.”

Visit Bitty & Beau’s Coffee at 1468 Pearl Street.