We’ve been staying in Providence, the capital of Rhode Island, the USA’s smallest state. And it really has been lovely. We are staying just off Benefit Street, which is straight out of the 18th century, all wooden houses and exceptionally well cared for. The irony is that our AirBnB in this wonderful neighborhood is super budget. Once again full credit to Kirsty for doing all the research and finding yet another winning home for a few days.
Providence has a lot of universities and design schools and it shows. There’s a good degree of relaxed liberal places to eat, all of which are a welcome respite from the relentless fried food we seem to be surrounded by.
But the highlight of Providence for me has been the coffee shop I found along the road from ours called Bitty & Beau’s. From the outside it looks modern, clean and new. Once inside if you are awake, you see the full range of merch they have for sale and the graphics around the wall.
Their story is rather inspiring. Founded in North Carolina by Amy & Ben Wright couple who are parents of four children — Lillie, Emma Grace, Beau and Bitty. Lillie was born with autism, and Bitty & Beau were born with Down syndrome.
After learning over 80% of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are unemployed in the USA, the Wrights decided to create a place where people with disabilities are valued & given opportunity for meaningful work. Their model? Well it seems to be coffee shop, with unforgettable staff that aims to change the way people see other people.
For me, that’s a business with a real purpose. I’ve been in all three mornings since we arrived to collect our morning coffee and I have seen different team members. I managed to have a chat with one woman who was clearly a supervisor/leader and we talked about how historic the area we are staying is, her love of Portugal, as that’s where her family came from. That inevitably led to talk of the football and the World Cup. She was absolutely shocked snd stunned that we were traveling around watching England play.
Today I had another chat with a man who was in charge and he filled me in about the history of the company and philosophy of the business. We also talked about football, the US national team and Liverpool FC who he supported because of the Fenway Sports Group connection.
It was their first summer of trading in Providence and he said they were missing the students who were all on their holidays as the students really did support Bitty & Beau’s. That was great to hear and really has inspired me. Contrary to what many outsiders say, there’s much to be inspired about in America. None of us should ever forget that, even if they do seem to be a tad divided right now.
Maybe Americans should be a little more Bitty & Beau’s. Greatness is not always where you expect it to be.
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