Frank Bartoli, PA Inclusive president & CEO, along with his daughter Ellie, cut the ribbon of Coffee Inclusive’s new venture, The Bakery at Coffee Inclusive on Friday.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown, who earlier in the day served as a coffee barista, addresses the ribbon-cutting gathering with City of Pittston Mayor Michael Lombardo looking on.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Sandy Nardone, Coffee Inclusive board chair, thanked all supporters of The Bakery at Coffee Inclusive during the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Frank Bartoli, PA Inclusive president & CEO, speaks at the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the new venture, The Bakery at Coffee Inclusive, with his team of bakery workers to his left.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
There are plenty of cookies, cupcakes and pies available at The Bakery of Coffee Inclusive, 350 Kennedy Blvd., Suite 12, Pittston.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Julius Zuckerwar of Avoca pours eggs into the batter to produce cookies at The Bakery at Coffee Inclusive prior to the ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday in Pittston.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
PITTSTON — Coffee Inclusive, a two-year-old coffee shop operated by people with disabilities under the umbrella of PA Inclusive, celebrated the opening of The Bakery at Coffee Inclusive with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday.
The bakery, located at 350 Kennedy Blvd., Suite 12, was in full swing, baking and selling pies, cakes and cookies to the throngs gathered for the ribbon-cutting ceremony held outside.
Dignitaries on hand included City of Pittston Mayor Michael Lombardo; Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown, who also served as a coffee barista earlier in the morning; State Rep. Jim Haddock; Michelle Mikitish, Greater Pittston Chamber of Commerce president; and Lindsay Griffin-Boylan, Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce president and CEO.
“Today is a great day for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, Autism and diverse abilities,” Frank Bartoli, PA Inclusive president & CEO, said. “Today, they showcase their work, their craft, their value. When you take a drink or a bite from one of the products at Coffee Inclusive and now The Bakery at Coffee Inclusive, you learn firsthand how well they do their jobs.”
Bartoli added, “Over the past few months, we have also developed a new age transitional employment program, where students with disabilities are learning how to work in a real-world business, with expectations of finding jobs in local restaurants when they graduate from High School.”
He went on to say the program is a one-of-a-kind opportunity, a true school-to-work program where there is a unique business model where people with disabilities are teaching the public their value.
“We have so many people to be thankful for in making this a reality, but we are most thankful to the students and adults with diverse abilities for teaching us every day that our world is better with them in it,” Bartoli added.
“This is more than just a launch of a business — it is the start of a movement here in Northeastern Pennsylvania,” Kaitlin Hall, development and marketing director, PA Inclusive, said. “At Coffee Inclusive, we believe in creating more than baked goods and delicious coffee. We are creating opportunities — opportunities for individuals with intellectual disabilities to develop valuable job skills, gain independence and show the world what they are capable of achieving.”
Sandy Nardone, Coffee Inclusive board chair, thanked sponsors for their financial contributions to make Bakery Inclusive possible, as well as the people who make up the staff at Coffee and Bakery Inclusive.
“If I had to describe my experience here in one word, that word would be community,” Nardone said. “By definition, community is a fellowship with other like-minded people who share similar values, missions, interests in goals. I think here at Coffee Inclusive, we take that one step further, and we feel a sense of belonging, which I believe is the hallmark of the human experience.”
She concluded by saying none of the businesses would be possible without thanking Frank Bartoli and his daughter, Ellie.
“Thank you both for your vision and for living out your mission, and for allowing us all to tag along,” Nardone added. “So I welcome you (the community,) and I invite you to come and enjoy that sense of community and belonging with us today and every day that you come back because I think you’re going to want to come back.”
At the conclusion of the ceremony, Ellie Bartoli threw a pie in her dad’s face in honor of Pi Day, the annual celebration of the mathematical constant of 3.14.
