KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Earlier this month, when out looking for a great cup of coffee, I came across HullHouse Coffee, a family-run coffee shop in Kansas City's Northland.
The family's love of coffee wasn’t why they started roasting their own beans and selling the coffee at the shop.
After I sat down, I learned more about their mission to create a loving and inclusive space and the people that help make it possible.
One of those people is Charlie Hull. His smile is one of the first one's you'll see when you walk in. He also happens to be the inspiration for why his parents decided to open up HullHouse
“It’s just to give kids with intellectual disabilities a place to be, a part of community, you know?” Charlie's father John Hull told me. “And I think its important too for the community to understand these kids can do just as much as anybody else can.”
A place to work and a place to belong and since it opened last November, it has become a gathering place too.
"I swear I have changed from my usual coffee place to this coffee place because it is really tasty,” customer Vicki Denning says.
It’s a place where everyone is welcome and so is a little patience.
“I think some people are in too big of a hurry to get it and go," John told me. "We just need to slow down a little bit."
“It’s a great place to just simply be and vibe,” HullHouse Coffee employee Enigma Addis said. “This is the only environment I’m in where I’m like ‘Oh yay, people.'"
She says they love working here.
“We have other neurodivergent people that work here as well so I feel right at home and it’s not like I feel any different here,” Enigma told me.
Charlie, Enigma and other employees take orders, clean tables, make drinks, and more. One of the employees helps by roasting their coffee. While John loves coffee, he admits that it wasn't easy to learn how to roast.
“I burned a lot of coffee. A lot,” John admitted to me. “I’m like, 'God, this is never gonna work', you know? I really had my doubts.”
But now they are well on their way and he said creating this place has been well worth it. The Hull family now hopes you’ll help keep it going.
“The more business, the more kids that we can give the opportunity to do so," John told me. "We just want to keep the doors open and give them a place to be a part of.”
You can find HullHouse Coffee at Metro North Crossing near 169 highway and NW Barry Road.
VOICE FOR EVERYONE | Share your voice with KSHB 41’s Lindsay Shively
—