Café Joyeux

Café Joyeux is a coffee and tea cafe-restaurant that is dedicated to employing and training people with mental and cognitive disabilities. The company’s goal is to teach life skills, how to interact with guests and to help remove the stigma surrounding people with disabilities. This non profit 501(c)(3) cafe is an international company that started in France. The New York location is the first in the United States.

Occupying a 1,250 sq. ft. space, the customer flow was extremely important to the client. Our team was tasked with figuring out exactly where everything was going to be placed and made detailed drawings illustrating the placements for the client. With an employee greeting every customer at the door, elite|studio e designed the space with flow efficiency in mind, placing a mobile pick up at the entrance, too.

The client wanted a light food menu that included sandwiches and pastries, as well as traditional hot and cold beverage offerings. No cooking is necessary, since everything is pre-prepared. Only a warming oven was needed. Oftentimes, when developing a space that has multiple locations, the same equipment is specified for consistent menu results and training purposes. However, the cafe equipment used in Europe is not compliant in the United States. Our team found the proper replacements to ensure the same culinary results, as well as maintaining the vision and design integrity of the space.

In addition, Café Joyeux was designed to be ADA compliant and also features an isolated space for employees who need to step away for a moment.

It fills our cup to be brought into a pro-bono opportunity like Café Joyeux, which contributes to the professional inclusion of people and has a mission to open hearts.