Sam's Canterbury Cafe

Alright, next week is the start of Autism Awareness Buffet. It's also the one year anniversary of a special cafe in North Baltimore that gives people with autism a place to work. The reason why the owners open the cafe will definitely warm your heart. ABC 2 News, Megan Knight has this story. If you stop by Sam's Canterbury Cafe for a cup of coffee, you'll He loves it. It's his cafe. The young man who was reluctant to walk in the door the first time, he has taken full ownership of it. He loves the guests. He loves helping them. Sam's parents, Michael and Jennifer Myers, who own the cafe, had no clue about running a restaurant before they opened last year. Never owned a restaurant, never been in the restaurant business, never wanted to be in the restaurant business. But they wanted Sam, who has autism, to thrive after graduation. He enjoyed working in the kitchen, so they thought, why not open a cafe? So you were doing it for the love of your son? Yes. Yes. If it were not for Sam, we would not have started a new business. They began looking for the perfect location. Their search brought them to the Tuscany Canterbury neighborhood near Johns Hopkins University, a place they felt would bring in a lot of regulars to the cafe. So that they would know Sam, and now we probably think, understand the mission and want to be not just supportive of it, but a part of it. The mission, written on a wall at the cafe, is to serve quality food while providing meaningful employment for people with autism. And the Myers made good on that promise by employing about half a dozen others who are on the autism spectr I don't want it to be thought of as the place where special needs people work. Were trying to create a special place, period, a great neighborhood cafe, where it just happens that some of the staff are people with or on the autistic spectr It's a delicate balance of educating customers while also creating a warm and inviting environment. I'm happy if they'll come to visit the first time because they heard about what we do, but of course it needs to be a wonderful guest experience with good food and a nice atmosphere for them to keep coming back. April is National Autism Awareness Month and Sam's Canterbury Cafe has a lot planned, including a special blue themed menu and an open house at the end of the month. We have all the details on abc2news. com. A mega night for ABC 2 News.