The aroma of fresh-baked bread paired with the hustle of a lively business lunch crowd is typical for Café 54, 54 E. Pennington St.
The cafe is not just a great spot to have a Downtown eating experience. It's also an important training program for individuals coping with mental illnesses.
The brightly lit dining room is filled with diners enjoying sandwiches, salads and pasta dishes.
The main purpose of the cafe is to get individuals with mental illness into the workforce by focusing on their abilities instead of their disabilities.
Lillian Pesqueira, who has worked at the cafe for three years, explained how her experience has helped.
"When I first started, I was so quiet and scared of people. Now, I feel better," she said.
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Pesqueira rushes around the restaurant, running food, clearing tables, restocking supplies, washing dishes and doing whatever else needs to be done.
Café 54, a nonprofit organization, opened its doors in summer 2004. Since then, it has graduated many workers from its year-round program (workers graduate in three to nine months). Café 54 provides people with on-the-job training as servers, line cooks, pastry chefs, cashiers, dishwashers and caterers to prepare them for future employment at other restaurants.
Mindy Bernstein, Café 54's executive director, said her employees are important to the function of the restaurant.
"We absolutely depend on the trainees to shoulder the weight. We couldn't do this without them," Bernstein said.
"For some people, this is their first job. For others, this is a place to restart again."
Dishwasher Frances Solis, who is about to graduate from the program, feels confident that she can find employment.
"I am doing the best that I can and getting more skills so that I can be ready for the real world out there," Solis said.
Solis and the other trainees work with job coaches to learn about the restaurant profession and to gain confidence.
"One thing this program does is help place people with mental illness in the community with jobs," said job coach and developer Davey Hendrickson. "It has the effect of normalizing people with mental illnesses that have lots of talents. They are doing things they never thought they could do before."
Café 54 is open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays-Fridays and is available for catering by calling 622-1907.
Another reason to go
Because of the success of Café 54's recent Customer Appreciation Week, the restaurant has lowered most of its prices. Most menu items now will cost between $5 and $6. Only four dishes, including the tri-tip sirloin ($7.50) and the salmon ($9), will be more than $6.
