Bitty and Beau’s Coffee

Bitty and Beau's Coffee is a coffee shop in Charleston, SC, located at 159 Church Street. The shop serves a classic coffee shop menu that includes lattes and other espresso drinks, and it is open daily from 9am to 5pm. Group visits and catering are available, and the shop runs a fundraising program that lets organizations nationwide raise money by selling its coffee.

Bitty and Beau's Coffee operates as a human rights movement expressed through a coffee shop, a workplace where people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are valued and where diversity is celebrated rather than merely accepted. The company employs more than 450 individuals with disabilities nationwide. Founders Amy and Ben Wright are parents to four children: Lillie, Emma Grace, Beau and Bitty. Lillie was born with autism, and Bitty and Beau were born with Down syndrome. After learning that over 80 percent of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are unemployed nationwide, the Wrights set out to create a place where people with disabilities are valued and given the opportunity for meaningful work, built around a coffee shop with a staff that changes the way people see other people.

The original shop opened in January 2016 in Wilmington, North Carolina, and employed 19 individuals with disabilities. Through social media, national coverage and community support, the company has grown to 18 shops across 11 states with more than 450 employees, and it has gained over 650,000 followers across social media platforms. It has been featured on The Today Show, Rachael Ray, CNN, Harry, Good Morning America, Dr. Oz, HLN, People Magazine and Southern Living Magazine. Founder Amy Wright was named 2017 CNN Hero of the Year.

The Church Street shop sits in downtown Charleston, steps from The Molony Building Marker and the Site of the First Methodist Church in Charleston Marker. The Powder Magazine museum and The Black Fedora theater are both within a short walk, and the Charleston City Market is about a tenth of a mile away. The Footlight Players Theatre is also roughly a tenth of a mile from the shop.

Bitty and Beau's Coffee pairs a full coffee shop menu with a mission that has earned national recognition, bringing both to downtown Charleston a short walk from the City Market.