A very full day at the COCO Cafe

Today was both exhausting and awesome. I am almost too tired to blog, but I've got to keep it up.

I arrived at the COCO Cafe in Cedar at nine, took some garbage out (amid worries that there was a gas leak... which there was, but all fixed) and waited to get the day going. Over the course of the day we stained furniture, learned how to use the Point of Sale Cash register, interviewed someone with developmental disabilities who will likely be working at the Cafe after it opens and learned how to use the very fancy espresso machine. It was fun. I made some drinks that turned out beautifully, I am beginning to get the hang of this again.

We also spent a lot of time beginning to organize the kitchen and bar(ista) area. It was so awesome to have input in where things should go... Normally, a barista wouldn't have the option of saying "Hey, I like it if the ____ is next to the ____ (and on the right because I am right handed)". Because we are all in this from before opening, we get to have a say, which I think in the long run will make us more committed to the Cafe. We are a part of it now and as we become Support Workers, for people with developmental disabilities who will work there, I think we will feel even more a part of the big picture.

So awesome, so exciting, so fun.

It will be opening soon at the 49th Parallel compound in Cedar, where the garden shop used to be.

Check out the COCO Cafe

And the COCO Cafe facebook group