'A place for them to learn and grow': New downtown Raleigh coffee shop employs people with disabilities

Since Wrege’s days as a student at NC State University, she’s seen her dream become reality.

“We always said, ‘Wouldn’t it be so cool if we had a shop of our own?’” Wrege said. “‘Wouldn’t it be cool if it was in downtown Raleigh?’”

On Saturday morning, the company is set to officially open its third location at 615 Hillsborough St. in the Bloc[83] development. It will be open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days per week.

The new, 500-square-foot shop will employ about 15 cashiers and baristas.

“When you set the bar high and let people rise to it, they always exceed your expectations, but even sometimes their own,” Wrege said.

“It was exciting for us to just see different pieces start physically arriving, and it started to look like a coffee shop,” Wrege said.

Wrege’s relationship with barista Amanda Singer began at NC State. The two women quickly bonded over tennis. Singer has worked at the Farmer’s Market location for five years.

“I do coffee for people who … don’t like to taste coffee,” Singer said.

321 Coffee’s newest location sells coffee and coffee grounds roasted by Singer. The to-go packaging even features a sketch of Singer’s face.

“It feels really, really special to me,” Singer said.

At the Farmer’s Market location, Singer has developed friendships with several NC State football players.

“[Devin Leary] asked me to have a catch and I said yes to him,” Singer recalled. “And, I got an ACC ball signed by coach [Dave Doeren] and Leary.”

Singer also expressed her appreciation for Wolfpack quarterback Ben Finley.

“Ben Finley is one of my favorites because one day I was at the Farmer’s Market, [and] he came to see me,” Singer said. “He’s one of my favorite football players, and hopefully, he’ll come see me at the new store.”

The downtown shop also has a mural inside the shop of four people who helped 321 Coffee get to where it is today: Grace Murdoch, Grace Chalker, Andy Zurita and Emma Wissink.

“The storefront stands for inclusion,” Wissink said. “It will bring together my friends and my community.”

Wrege’s friendship with Wissink began back when they were in third grade way, before either of them even had tried coffee.

About a decade later, Wrege launched 321 Coffee with co-founder Michael Evans out of their college dorm rooms at NC State. In November 2018, Wrege delivered a speech as part of a TEDxCaryAcademy event about her experiences.

“To be here in downtown Raleigh, looking out these big windows with beautiful windows and a fabulous team, like, this is really, really special for our crew,” Wrege said of the new shop.

321 Coffee digital marketing and events spokesperson Mallory Bryan invited the public to visit the new downtown shop not only for a cup of coffee, but to meet the team.

“It’s hard to put into words the way that it makes me feel,” Bryan said. “There have been multiple times during our soft openings that I’ve started crying because our baristas have talked about what this means to them.”

Part of 321 Coffee’s mission is to change the statistic.

“It’s really a place for them to learn and grow and be in a supportive work environment,” Wrege said of the shop’s employees. “But then also, showcase to the world and to Raleigh all that they are capable of and the confidence that we’ve seen them develop in their own selves is really something that we all take pride in.”