Bloom Café Opens Doors For All
Paraquad is a nonprofit, and its mission entails empowering people with disabilities to improve their independence through choice and opportunity. Its new café capitalizes a three-step regimen for the employees: A 12-week training program, paid internship and the culminating job placement.
The training curriculum will officially launch in June 2018 and will be held each spring, summer and fall thereafter. The sessions run Monday through Friday and provide lessons in food handling and preparation, customer service and proper work etiquette. Each student receives a ServSafe certification through the National Restaurant Association upon completion of the training.
From the training program, the trainees will become interns at The Bloom Café and partnering restaurants within the St. Louis area, so they can further advance their professional skills. The Bloom Café’s staff provides ongoing support to the interns through one-on- one job training. Upon completion of the internship, the interns will be considered “job ready,” but they will continue to receive support from Paraquad through resume writing, financial planning and job searching.
The brainchild of The Bloom Café blossomed from Paraquad’s mission to dispel the myths associated in hiring people with disabilities. On average, people with disabilities are twice as likely to be unemployed and live in poverty, according to The Bloom Café’s website. Attempting to counteract these statistics within the St. Louis area, Paraquad has been helping these people for over 45 years to receive the necessary training and skill building in preparation for their first job experience.
The Bloom Café is located adjacent to Paraquad, and the café showcases a vibrant atmosphere with windows surrounding its customers and flowers tended by workers at the Missouri Botanical Gardens. Additionally, it features outdoor seating and a separate “garden room” for a business meeting or private party.
“Our goal is to be the go-to destination for good food, good service and good training opportunities for people with disabilities,” Paraquad President and CEO Aimee Wehmeier said.
The menu parallels the setting, providing fresh salads, signature soups in honor of its location in Dogtown, sandwiches—such as its 6-inch Bloom subs—and breakfast specials—such as breakfast burritos, scrambles and stratas. Accessibility was key in creating The Bloom Café and its menu. “We don’t want it to be really expensive, but we want it to be healthy and accessible to everyone,” Beth Jantz, project manager of The Bloom Café, said.
Running along the side of the café patio, the flower garden doubles as a vegetable garden, and fresh vegetables will be grown and used in the food. The Bloom Café’s culinary team is led by Culinary Director Joe Wilson, Chef Manager Jeremy Robinson and Pastry Chef Karen McKenney. The Bloom Café’s hours of operation are on Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. For further information on its training program and menu, visit thebloom.cafe.
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Staunch entered SLU as a Biomedical Engineering major on a Pre-med track, with the intention of continuing her studies in medical school. After a year and a half at SLU, she realized she missed the balance of the arts with sciences as she was previously an editor in her high school yearbook committee.
"Working for UNews, whether it was as Associate News Editor, Managing Editor, or Editor-in-Chief, has taught me the value of working on tight deadlines and how to adequately adapt to certain unexpected situations. The field of Journalism is incredibly fast paced - but that is why I love it so much," Staunch said. "There is always something new occurring, and you would not be able to effectively complete your job unless you had the support of your other editors and staff."
Though paradoxical in nature, she switched her major to Communication. She wants to incorporate both her analytical and creative sides to report on medical topics. Her dream job: to write for Discover Magazine.
When Staunch is not in the newsroom, she is captaining the women’s Ultimate Frisbee team at SLU. She began playing her freshman year and enjoys it as an outlet.
