The familiar clinking sound of silverware, chopping on a cutting board and searing on a grill could be coming from any busy commercial kitchen in the middle of the day. But, in this case, those are the sounds of individuals living with disabilities and other barriers to employment achieving their vocational potential.
Those are the sounds of the kitchen staff at Empower Café. It’s an all-new facility, open to the public, inside the headquarters of Workshops Empowerment Inc. (WE Inc.), a United Way partner agency, in Birmingham’s Avondale community. The eatery is the latest addition to WE’s continuously expanding Empower Pathways program, designed to help program participants find meaningful careers and community connections.
Gary Jones, Culinary Pathway Navigator at WE, leads the kitchen. After spending years in restaurants and then as Executive Chef of Nourish Foods, Jones said he decided he wanted to do something more with his craft. Over the past several months, he has trained staff and put together a delicious menu for the Empower Café.
“All the time, you see notes in the windows of restaurants explaining that they don’t have enough employees to serve. As an industry, hospitality is hurting for competitive employees,” Jones said. “I know this is a gap our WE Inc. interns can fill.”
Founded in 1900, WE Inc. has always focused on breaking down barriers to employment for people with disabilities and others who may be restricted from joining the workforce. But for much of its history, WE Inc. has primarily provided jobs and training in the production and manufacturing sector.
Empower Café is a way for WE Inc. to broaden its offerings at both ends of restaurant labor — providing kitchen and hospitality jobs alike.
James Womack, for example, has been working with WE Inc. to help determine how he can fit into the workforce. James spent time in several different departments within WE Inc. but did not find his niche until he started working with Jones in the Empower Café.
“I’ve really enjoyed working with Chef in the café and making baking mixes for WE Made. It’s pretty fun.”
James is likely nearing the end of his job-searching journey with Workshops. He’s a paid intern, the last step of the program before finding a job elsewhere. Each of the interns in the Empower Pathways program starts with an assessment to determine their interests and skills.
After the assessment, participants take classes covering a broad range of job-readiness skills, including time management, communication, teamwork and computer literacy. Specialized Pathway Navigators then work with the participants to help them develop further skills, knowledge, and credentials in a career pathway.
Within the Empowerment program, there are currently five Pathways that participants can pursue:
- Business/Marketing
- Computer/Technology
- Construction/Industrial
- Consumer Services
- Production/Processing
While the café is an extension of the consumer services track, it is also the latest in a significant expansion to the Empowerment program. Later this year, WE Inc. plans to make more room for construction training in their facility and begin its healthcare track, said Executive Director Christy Atkinson.
“By expanding our programming, we’ve moved far beyond outdated models to provide meaningful, skill-building experiences for individuals living with disabilities and other barriers,” Atkinson said. “This evolution is rooted in our unwavering commitment to creating lasting change — inspiring purpose, independence and success.”
WE Inc.’s Empower Pathways program is one of the many ways that United Way partners and programs advance financial stability, community connection and workforce development in Central Alabama.