SAN ANTONIO, Texas — The Mermaid Café has everything you expect from a coffee shop: Plenty of caffeine, cases filled with gluten-free goodies, a full line of branded merch and lots of small tables the perfect size for laptops.

What sets the new spot apart is who’s behind the counter. The café, which opened earlier this month, is staffed almost entirely by people with disabilities.

“We’re different,” said Leah Meyer, 24, the café’s founder, inspiration and part of the staff. “I just want to be fair to everyone.”

The cafe has a crew of 17 including Leah and her parents. Like Leah, who has Down syndrome, most of the employees have disabilities.

A bright place with a pink neon sign reading “I am enough” on one wall, Mermaid Café is located at 14415 Blanco Road, Suite 110.

“The whole dilemma in the special needs community is that they’re very capable adults but no one will give them a chance to show what they’re able to do,” said Karen Meyer, Leah’s mom, who works as a speech therapist. “And I get it. It’s hard to know — can you do this job?”

Employment rates

In San Antonio, 15.1% of the population has a declared disability, and just one-third of that population over the age of 16 is employed, according to the city’s poverty dashboard. A 2023 Cornell University report found that the employment rate for people with disabilities nationwide is 46.8% compared to 81.5% for those without.

The numbers illustrate the need for businesses like The Mermaid Café. The opportunities they provide are important, but the potential impact is bigger than that.

“It helps to change the narrative,” said Melanie R. Cawthon, co-founder and CEO of disABILITYsa. “In a day and age, unfortunately, where people still believe that people with various types of disabilities aren’t capable or able to do things, it brings a spotlight to the disability community’s ability to work right alongside everybody else.”

The idea for the shop started percolating when Leah was about 4 and first mentioned that she wanted to have her own restaurant. When it was clear that it was a goal and not a fancy, her family started regularly talking about how they might be able to make it happen.

They helped her with her interest in food and cooking. Her mom taught her how to bake, and the family launched a YouTube channel, “Cooking with Leah.” It features videos in which she prepares dishes such as grilled cheese, a dinner salad, fresh-squeezed lemonade, pancakes and all kinds of treats. Her parents, siblings and others pop up from time to time, lending a helping hand where needed.

The catchphrase for the videos is “Yummy is good.”

Getting down to business

About two years ago, the Meyers got serious about making The Mermaid Café happen.

“Karen said, ‘You know, if we’re going to do this, we need to do it. She’s not getting any younger and neither are we,'” said Drew Meyer, Leah’s dad, noting that he and his wife are both in their 50s.

He has experience with food trucks, and they considered going in that direction.

“Leah worked on the food truck with me before and enjoyed that, enjoyed interacting with people,” he said. “But there’s only so many people we could employ with that. And so, we started thinking about the bigger mission of bringing that meaningful employment to those that are underserved.”

A full-scale restaurant felt a little too big, but a coffee shop seemed doable.

Jake Martinez, 26, worked the counter for a while on opening day. He also participated in the soft opening, which he described as “truly a great experience.”

His parents, Art and Deborah Martinez, drove him to work and hung out a bit as he started his shift. His mom was one of the first customers, picking up cookies as well as some merch for folks in her office.

The family learned about plans for the café from a friend at church. The more they learned about what the Meyers hoped to do, the more excited they got.

Many young men like Jake, who are on the autism spectrum, end up spending a lot of time alone at home instead engaging with the world, Deborah Martinez said. She and her husband, who are in their 60s, want much more for their son.

“This is a place for young adults like Jake to have a place at the table and have that sense of community that I’ve been looking for,” said Deborah Martinez, who retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel and has worked with wounded warriors for the past 15 years. “There’s nowhere else like it in San Antonio that says, ‘We want you and we understand you.'”

Opening day

Most of the patrons who turned up in the first hour or so on opening day had some connection to the Meyer family. Jennifer Parpacen-Smith, 39, who was their babysitter when Leah was little, snacked on a decadent-looking cinnamon roll while working on her laptop.

Parpacen-Smith said getting to know Leah inspired her to become an occupational therapist.

“She showed me what it meant to be a person with special needs and how that’s not going to stop you from what you want to do,” she said. “She’s had this dream and they’ve been talking about this for years. It’s exciting to see it all come to life.”

Staffers from the Down Syndrome Association of South Texas, whose office is nearby, came by to support the business, as well.

“It gives me hope,” said education director Magaly Diaz, 39, whose daughter has Down syndrome. “I’m always thinking, ‘Where is she going to work when she grows up?’ It means my kid can do it.”

Savannah Knox and her 19-month-old son Arlo, both clad in Bluey T-shirts, stopped by for a few chocolate chip cookies before they went to his therapy appointment.

“Arlo has Down syndrome, and we’re constantly looking for ways to get him involved in his community and also support his community,” said Knox, 39. “When I see kids that want to live their dreams, I want to support it. And that’s all I ever want for my son. I hope that someday, somebody will be doing the same for Arlo.”

Whenever they go to Houston, they make it a point to visit Bitty & Beau’s, a national franchise that also hires people with disabilities. She’s glad to have a place with a similar mission close to home.

“To have something here in San Antonio in our own back yard that’s personal to someone is beautiful,” she said. “It’s not a franchise — it’s people doing something for their daughter. I love that.”

Leah walked over to introduce herself to the Knoxes. She cuddled and chatted with the little boy for a bit.

That was her favorite part of the first day of business, she said.

“It brought me joy,” she said.

She sees The Mermaid Café as just the beginning. She also wants to create a camp where children can learn about the ocean. And she’d like to have a restaurant empire that spans the globe.

“I want the whole world to see that it doesn’t matter that we are different,” she said. “We’re just different. That’s all. We all have purpose.”

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