A new non-profit business is baking its way to Gainesville with a mission to create an accommodating and inclusive work environment within the community.
Puzzle Piece Pastries has transformed the former Pizza Hut building on Thompson Bridge Road into a colorful, wheelchair-accessible bakery that will help fill a national need for workspaces catered to accommodate employees with autism or other disabilities and provide job opportunities and training to them on a local scale.
Brittany Chadwick, operational manager and head baker at Puzzle Piece said founders Matt and Teresa Kahn were inspired to open the bakery about a year and a half ago.
“The main inspiration for the project was, the owners, their son is autistic,” she said. “So, they knew that there was a huge gap in the adult community for special needs that needed to be filled when it came to employment, and what to do after you reach a certain age. I think it's 21 where a lot of the benefits decline, or they just stop altogether. And so, they started to look forward to his future and where he was going to be after he aged out.”
The unemployment rate among the 5.6 million adults with autism in the U.S. is high, with an estimation of as much as 50% to 75% of adults with autism not holding a paid position, according to Puzzle Piece. Chadwick explained that the Khans’ decided to create the sort of program they hoped their son could have access to, and chose to open a bakery due to the routine and repetitive nature of the baking environment as many individuals with Autism process activities by dividing each task into steps.
Ultimately, the goal of the non-profit is to only employ disabled adults but to create an environment where they can thrive. Puzzle Piece is specifically distinguishing itself from other work environments by having accommodations such as a loud bell attached to the building's drive-through that alerts employees when a car is near, louder timers that need to be manually shut off on ovens, and flexibility with the individual’s schedule. Chadwick also says the organization is working with other disability–centered programs to best learn how to accommodate their employees.
“We have job coaches, and occupational therapy students that are in the works of coming in and working with our employees,” she said. “So they'll be able to give us insight on dealing with stressful situations, dealing with overwhelming situations, and then just giving as much support as possible in, you know, being respectful and understanding that, there's going to be times where they need a break, they need to sit down, they need to, take it easy, or take it slow or have a simpler task .”
Once Puzzle Piece opens its doors in mid-August, customers can look forward to both breakfast and lunch options, but the true staple will be the bakery’s signature croissants.
“I'm confident in saying that there aren't other croissants in Gainesville like ours,” Chadwick said. “They are buttery, they're flaky. They're huge. They're baked fresh every single day, we bake them in-house.”
Aside from the savory and sweet menu items, the bakery will also have the option to donate a birthday cake to a child in need through its ‘Cakes for Kids’ program. By paying a base price that covers the supplies needed to produce the cake through Puzzle Piece's website, the non-profit will donate its skills to baking the cake, which it will then provide to the child. Along with this program, the website also houses 'Birthday Wishes', where members of the community can wish individuals a Happy Birthday. Chadwick explained these programs are to help remind disabled or children in need that everyone deserves to feel special on their birthday.
“A lot of people don't know about special needs kids, they really don't have birthday parties,” she explained. “It's hard to get them to have friends, it's hard to make friends, and even if you do, some parents may not want to bring them to a new environment. Some parents may not want them to go and get overwhelmed … it's completely understandable. But as a result of that, special needs kids don't get to have a birthday party where all their friends come and they get to celebrate with presents and cake. And so, we kinda want to fill that gap, too. We want people from the community to send birthday cards and birthday wishes and donate a cake.”
Chadwick said the non-profit ultimately hopes its mission will inspire other businesses in the community to adopt its approach to accessibility and accommodation within the workplace.
“I want to make it known that I in no way think that other jobs aren't doing to the best of their ability to accommodate a special needs employee,” she said. “But I think that we can change the dynamic of the workplace and how people are viewing their employees, not just special needs – but any employee that you hire, you want to see them flourish, and you want to see them accomplish things and you want to see them, you know, move forward from that place, if it's moving up in a job or going on to a better job, or whatever it is. I think that seeing that it's not just about what you can gain it is about your employees and what they can gain as well.”
