According to a report from the Department of Labor, 31.4 percent of adults ages 16-64 with a disability are currently employed, compared to 72.5 percent of adults in that same age range without a disability. DIRT's mission is to change that statistic by helping neurodivergent young adults gain employment through various programs. DIRT started with a mobile coffee truck before expanding to a brick-and-mortar location in downtown Littleton in 2018.
“Our mobile coffee truck hit the ground in 2013 with the mission to change minds and lives, one cup of coffee at a time. And we’re thrilled to continue to deliver on that mission through our expansion into DIRT’s second brick-and-mortar location,” says Catharina Hughey, DIRT's executive director. In addition, the new shop allows DIRT to "bring our programming to a new geographic location," Hughey notes.
Summer intern participants celebrate their graduation.
Courtesy of DIRT Coffee
Hughey joined DIRT in 2021, when the organization was looking for a chance to expand. Now that it has, it's able to serve more young adults with its inclusive employment internship program, which provides a three-month-long paid work experience at the coffee shop.
The new location "offers more ability to work with individuals who might’ve been in sensory overload at the current Littleton location," says Hughey. Plus, DIRT will have access to classrooms and designated spaces like a computer lab and a culinary kitchen. This will allow it to serve more people, not just those participating in the internship program.
"In 2023, things that will be new to our programs will be pre-employment transitional programs and standalone workshops for individuals looking for workshop skills," Hughey adds.
The original Littleton location and the new addition in Park Hill have a lot in common: Both serve coffee from Huckleberry Roasters and a small food menu with pastries, oatmeal and paninis. But while Littleton offers beer and wine, the Park Hill outpost does not because Mosaic is a dry campus. Formerly home to Johnson & Wales University, the thirteen buildings that sit on 25 acres were purchased in 2021 by the Urban Land Conservancy, Denver Public Schools and the Denver Housing Authority, with the goal of turning it into a live/work space with two schools and affordable-housing units. St. Elizabeth School and Denver School of the Arts opened their doors on the campus for the 2021-22 school year
DIRT's new location occupies one of thirteen commercial kitchen spaces that the nonprofit Kitchen Network is leasing to own. Kitchen Network also kicked off its programming last year, but DIRT is one of the first businesses to open to the public. Located in building eight, near the corner of Quebec and 17th Avenue, it will be joined by other businesses such as D Bar, Faeth, Cholon Restaurant Concepts and Food Business Consulting.
DIRT Coffee Park Hill is located at 1795 Quebec Street and is open 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, visit dirtcoffee.org.
