Park City council member Becca Gerber says last week’s council session was an occasion to feel proud of their community. Among other positive items, they celebrated the success of the Lucky Ones coffee shop in the City Library Building, which has given jobs to locals of differing abilities.
Gerber said the operation began with the proprietors of Lucky Ones—Katy Holyfield and Taylor Matkins.
“Taylor and Katie came to us, maybe even January when we were discussing our social equity goals. Mentioned that they were interested in opening up a coffee shop employing neuro-diverse and differently abled people in our community. They submitted an RFP for the coffee shop at the library. We were absolutely thrilled to have that come our way. That sounded like a great opportunity for our community. We are beyond thrilled with how it has worked out.”
During last Thursday’s meeting, the operation was applauded by city officials, staffers at Lucky Ones, and devoted customers. Gerber said the lease is working out well.
“They are not paying rent for that space. We’re subsidizing the rent in order for them to provide this service. I think that everything is looking really good. They are operating, I believe they said, that they are making twice as much if not almost three times as much as the last provider in that space. It’s become a successful operation. They’re employing 12-18 people in that coffee shop that would not otherwise have jobs in this community.”
She said the city is embracing the Lucky Ones model, and they’re looking for chances to hire the differently abled.
“The thing is that there is such a range of abilities and strengths among this population in our community. There are some different opinions as to how we approach it, but I think we’re all in agreement that there are lots of opportunities. Some people have very strong computer skills and are very technically minded, some people are very friendly. There’s just a range of strengths that we can really look to and embrace and find in different departments opportunities for these people. I think it’s looking inward and seeing where those opportunities really lie.”