和记娱乐ios蒂芙尼·菲特拥有并管理着Brewability, a 酒吧和餐厅 providing training and jobs in the brewing and hospitality industry for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. (图片来源:Todd Weddle/和记棋牌娱乐)
1月. 10, 2023
11月的一个周五晚上，科罗拉多州恩格尔伍德市中心的Brewability酒吧. Nearly every seat is occupied as local band Dear Marsha belts out classic rock favorites and leads crowd sing-alongs.
周五晚上，在恩格尔伍德，Brewability的员工何塞和亲爱的玛莎一起唱歌, 科罗拉多州, 酒吧和餐厅.
人们在Brewability看到的绝不是另一家卖披萨和啤酒的店. 瑞秋, 患有唐氏综合症的人, 在餐厅当服务员, 有目的地送一盘一盘的披萨. Juliana, who is visually impaired, is gracefully working the bar and pouring glasses of beer. 当何塞, 患有唐氏综合症的厨房工人, 和亲爱的玛莎一起唱了一曲王子的《和记棋牌娱乐》,人群亲切地为他欢呼.
“如果你来到Brewability，离开时感觉不太好, 你有点不对劲,“亲爱的玛莎”歌手蕾娜·艾尔斯在歌曲间隙说.
Brewability – a 酒吧和餐厅 providing training and jobs in the brewing and hospitality industry for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities – brims with inclusivity, 验收, 微笑和笑声. 这是07年Tiffany Fixter的梦想成真.
“人们说‘这里气氛很好.“这就是他们所说的——‘氛围’，”Fixter一边自豪地看着整个房间一边说.
Fixter created Brewability in 2016 with a vision of a family-friendly space where adults with disabilities are gainfully employed and every aspect of the operation is purposeful.
菲特在内布拉斯加州林肯市长大，父母都是企业家. 她的父亲, 在丹佛郊区的恩格尔伍德长大, 他一生中大部分时间都在珠宝行业工作, 她的父母在埃斯蒂斯公园开了一家古董店. 为了帮助Brewability在2019年搬到恩格尔伍德，Fixter的母亲卖掉了她的面包店.
“I should have taken some more business classes at Northwest ’cause now I’m doing it,” Fixter jokes.
尽管如此，当菲克斯特去和记棋牌娱乐时，她的母亲还是鼓励她接受教育. She became an elementary education major with a cross-categorical emphasis in K-12 special education. She also joined Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority and enjoyed participating in philanthropy activities to support Special Olympics, 除了与玛丽维尔有残疾儿童的家庭合作之外.
即使长大了, 在小学，初中和高中, 我一直在帮助残疾儿童,”她说。. “我总是和我爸爸一起做很多慈善工作. 他参与了基瓦尼斯的活动，所以我在高中的时候在那里创办了钥匙俱乐部. 回馈社会真的很重要，这在我小时候就根深蒂固.”
在澳大利亚留学了一个学期之后, Fixter returned to Northwest to finish her bachelor’s degree and secured an internship as a practicing teacher in Kansas City Public Schools – an experience in an urban setting that presented numerous challenges for which she concedes she was not prepared. 但她坚持了下来，并在堪萨斯大学(University of Kansas)攻读硕士学位, 白天教书，晚上上课.
“我其实很想去迪士尼乐园工作, 作为客户关系专员,费特说。, 她完成了关于自闭症患者假期体验的硕士论文. “I was really interested in people with disabilities and how they interact with the community.”
In 2014, Fixter decided to leave teaching and relocated to the Denver area to become the director of a day program for adults with disabilities. That lasted for barely a year until, Fixter says, she was let go for showing a lack of creativity.
“我真的认为这就像升职一样, 负责一个大项目, 但这绝对是一个从公立学校教师的转变,Fixter说 of the program that had her overseeing the care of 135 individuals who had medical needs that required her to earn additional certifications.
“我意识到135个人中只有一个人有兼职工作，”菲克斯特说. “这感觉像是浪费了潜力.”
Brewability位于恩格尔伍德市中心的一座有百年历史的建筑里.
因此，Fixter在Kickstarter的融资活动帮助下，于2016年创建了Brewability. She envisioned a family-friendly space where adults with disabilities are gainfully employed and every aspect of the operation is purposeful. 她想要一个让员工和顾客都感到安全并能掌控局面的地方.
这并不容易. Fixter’s journey with Brewability has been a continuous process of trial and error in the face of pushback and threats from people who disagree with her inclusive business model. She trialed the concept at a Denver incubator for craft brewers and then opened Brewability’s first location in a garage at an industrial park in northeast Denver.
“It showcases what people with disabilities can do and how they should be involved in our community,Fixter说. “它们不应该被隐藏在日间节目中. 他们应该到社区去. 如果他们想喝啤酒——如果医学上允许的话——是可以的. 他们不是孩子. 每个人都需要一个目标.”
In 2018, one of Brewability’s customers offered Fixter a turnkey pizzeria in Denver’s Cherry Creek neighborhood. Fixter接过它，打开了Pizzability, 虽然她没有经营披萨店的经验.
“My mom and I went to the Las Vegas pizza convention and signed up for every class we could, 只是为了了解关于披萨的一切,Fixter说. “然后你必须投入进去，去做.”
最终, 虽然, Fixter不得不面对管理她租赁的两个地点的复杂性, 这两个地方都不是可酿酒性和可Pizzability所需的可访问性的主要地点. 两个租约都到期了, Fixter开始寻找一个她可以购买的地方来合并这两个概念.
She found it in the middle of downtown Englewood at a century-old building with history as a public market, 电器店和音像店. 在她母亲的帮助和一些资助下, Fixter于2019年底将这些业务搬到了目前的单一地点.
亚历克斯, 一个32岁的酒保，有视觉障碍和自闭症, 是Brewability的第一批员工吗. With his 8-year old guide dog nearby, he enjoys serving customers and talking sports with them.
可酿造的啤酒集中在充满活力的市中心地带的恩格尔伍德, 附近有一家领先的脑损伤和脊髓治疗中心, 以及科罗拉多盲人中心.
大约有25名员工在她的指导下经营着这家公司, Fixter已经实现了支持员工独立性的系统. 啤酒龙头上有彩色编码和盲文标签. Menus are available with pictures for patrons who cannot read and in Braille for those who are visually impaired.
Brewability also partners with Special Olympics and hosts “Blind Bingo” nights with the National Federation of the Blind. 星期六早上, 它提供包括尊巴舞在内的节目, 自适应健身, 轮椅拉伸, Pilates and self-defense training – in addition to being a hotspot for watch parties and birthday parties.
Fixter增加的设施和服务很大程度上是基于顾客提供的想法和反馈.
“我没有残疾, 就我个人而言, so I think it’s really important to listen to people that do and not make decisions just based on what I think they need,”她说。. “It’s just keeping a list of what people mention they might need because somebody else is going to come in and might need that, 太.”
现年41岁的瑞秋自2019年以来一直在Brewability工作. 当被问及她最喜欢在公司工作的什么时, 她说, “我喜欢做披萨和跳舞, 太, 和唱歌.”
The Pizzability sign from the former Cherry Creek location hangs on a back wall of the Englewood building as a reminder of the business’s origins. 与此同时, 修理工梦想扩建到大楼的屋顶, 翻新地下室，增加额外的用餐空间，并增加一部电梯. 不仅如此, she wants to inspire people and show other business owners what people with disabilities are capable of doing.
It’s not uncommon for parents – particularly those bringing children with disabilities to Brewability for the first time – to cry as they settle into the restaurant’s warm and caring atmosphere.
“他们可以看到自己的孩子长大后会有机会, 有一个安全的地方供它们吃饭,Fixter说. “他们被接受，不会被盯着看. 这种情况几乎每周都会发生，但每次都让我很难受.”
Brewability also has an effect on people who are not accustomed to interacting with others who have disabilities.
“It’s important to be so customer-facing and interactive because there are people that have never interacted with someone with a disability until they come in here,Fixter说. “这是一个直接教育和记棋牌娱乐客户的好机会.”
大约有25名员工在她的指导下经营Brewability, Fixter已经实现了支持员工独立性的系统
大约10点15分.m. 在十一月的那个星期五晚上, the band had finished playing and the noise that filled the room had dissipated to a soft buzz of conversation accompanied by the clinking of glasses and plates. 一个接一个, 当员工们完成了晚上的工作, 他们来到一张坐着Fixter的桌子前，互相拥抱并说“爱你”.”
Fixter beamed again as she watched them exit the building with caregivers or to catch their waiting transportation. 如今，围绕她的员工的成功故事数不胜数, 对于Fixter来说，即使是挑出一些对她最有意义的东西也很困难.
“每天都有事情发生，”她说. “很难记得它们是从哪里开始的，因为它们现在太独立了. 一切都很顺利. 我真的为他们感到骄傲.”
