321 Coffee coming to downtown Durham - Axios Raleigh

2022-05-28 13:13:53 By : Mr. Jerry Chan

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321 Coffee, a popular Raleigh coffee shop that hires employees with intellectual and developmental disabilities, will open its first cafe in Durham this summer, co-founder and CEO, Lindsay Wrege, tells Axios.

Details: It will be the coffee shop's fourth and largest cafe.

What’s happening: 321 Coffee has operated out of a stall at the State Farmers Market since 2019. Now, it's in expansion mode thanks to private investors. The original farmers market location is still open.

Background: Founded by Wrege, 22, and Michael Evans, 23, when they were students at N.C. State University in 2019, 321 employs more than 30 people with a disability.

Both Wrege and Evans grew up with close friends with disabilities, such as Down syndrome, and saw them struggle to find jobs after they were done with school.

Of note: Currently, 321 has a 70-person waitlist for jobs at its coffee shops.

The big picture: 321's growth is, in part, being fueled by a growing interest among companies to invest in inclusion efforts.

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