Bitty & Beau's opens in Tucson, spreading positivity one cup of coffee at a time

A worker with the brightest smile gifts you a vanilla latte that has the perfect milky, caramel brown color, featuring a bouquet of happy daisies drawn around the cup.

Surrounding the smiling daisies are the words “You are loved,” with little hearts all around.

This isn’t just a spot that brightens up your day. It's also changing the lives of its workers.

Bitty & Beau’s, a mobile coffee cruiser dedicated to helping people with disabilities by providing jobs that value them, has opened its first Arizona franchise here in Tucson, bringing along good vibes and good coffee.

Back in 2016, Amy Wright and her husband, Ben, read an alarming statistic: over 80% of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities were unemployed nationwide.

As proud parents of Lillie, who was born with autism, and Bitty and Beau, who were born with Down syndrome, they knew people with disabilities deserved way more than to be a part of that statistic.

So, the Wrights got to work.

They opened a coffee shop in Wilmington, North Carolina, employing 19 people with disabilities to help them run the café. It didn’t take long for them to realize they had started something special.

“We noticed that every visitor that came through our doors was having this great experience spending time with someone with disabilities and starting to see them differently,” Amy Wright said. “We started by thinking, you know, we're going to create some jobs for people with disabilities in our community, and it quickly evolved to 'we need to create as many of these experiences as we can'.”

In the past 10 years, Bitty & Beau’s has grown tremendously. There are now 25 locations across the United States with more than 450 employees.

The best moments are when the Wrights get to witness how much seeing someone with disabilities in the workplace affects those who thought this was something they wouldn’t be able to do.

“The ultimate moments are those families that have young children that have disabilities that don't know what their child's future looks like, and have a lot of concerns and fears, similar to the way Ben and I felt,” Wright said. “We just didn't know, because we never saw people with Down syndrome in the workplace. But when you see a young family approach with a child with a disability, you get to see them have that moment of 'wow, that's what my child's future could look like.' We also give that child a future employee button, and we make a big deal out of them. Those are really special moments.”

Luckily, a local family here in Tucson, the Emineths, caught wind of Bitty & Beau’s and decided to open a mobile cruiser here in town.

“We were thrilled, the Emineths are great people,” Amy Wright said. “They have a heart for doing this, and we felt like it was a really good match for our brand. They've just jumped in, embraced the mission and are starting to connect with their community.”

You can expect to see a full-blown espresso bar on wheels when you visit Bitty & Beau’s, at 7225 N. Oracle Road. Lattes, Americanos, cappuccinos and coffee can all be ordered here, along with other options like chai lattes, matcha lattes and hot chocolate.

Amy Wright said the iced lattes tend to be the most popular, especially in the summer heat.

“Our whole goal is bringing people together,” she said. “We do that with coffee as the platform, but it's really all about human connection.”

To see Bitty & Beau’s weekly schedule or what local events it will be at, make sure to check its website.