A small café in Buford is changing lives one cup at a time.
At Brightside Cafe, adults with special needs aren’t just welcomed — they run the entire operation, building confidence, job skills, and a real sense of belonging with every order.
Goodness is brewing from the moment customers walk in.
“Anything else, ma’am?” one worker asks with a smile from behind the counter.
“Touchdown!” another cheers from across the café.
Every mocha, muffin, and smoothie is made with purpose — and a whole lot of heart.
“I give them their order and they enjoy their drink,” said Jacob, one of the café’s employees. “Being creative and making customers happy.”
On this day, Jacob even gave a latte lesson.
“The milk is steaming right now… tap them, tap them both, tap and swirl, got it,” he coached.
“There you have it, a heart!” he said proudly.
“This represents all of the love I put into all of my drinks,” he said. “It makes me smile to give the art to people. Seeing people smile makes me smile.”
For many of the employees here, Brightside is their first job — and a place where they finally feel seen.
“It’s the best place to work ever,” one worker said. “Brightside forever.”
The café was opened by special education teacher Jennifer Elinburg and her friend Carrie Walton, after Jennifer spent years worrying about what happened to her students once they aged out of the school system.
“When it hits the end of the road at 22 and there’s nowhere else to go, you always wonder, how did they end up? What did they do next?” Elinburg said. “Well now I get to be a part of their next.”
Together, they created more than just a business.
“Just knowing that we’ve given them a place of purpose and belonging, it’s been the most amazing thing,” Walton said. “I get to wake up every day and know I get to come in and hang out with the most amazing people. There’s nothing like it.”
Right now, Brightside employs 17 adults with disabilities in Gwinnett County, and each one plays a critical role.
“Without one of them, we are not Brightside,” Elinburg said. “Each one of them is unique.”
Employees say the job has changed how they see themselves.
“Feeling like I have a purpose and a worth here, and giving something to society and people who have given back to me,” said cashier Natalie Fowler. “I give them something, maybe a drink or coffee for a day, but they’ve really given me a chance and a purpose.”
And the impact reaches far beyond the counter.
“It changes your culture, your workforce culture,” Walton said. “Changing lives, we are changing lives one cup at a time. And if anyone else wants to do it, it will change your life too.”
But the need is bigger than the café.
While 17 people work here now, more than 75 adults are currently on a waiting list, hoping another business will take a chance on them.
“If they would just take one person and take a chance, I promise you, just like my life has been changed and this community’s lives have been changed, their lives and businesses would be completely different,” Elinburg said.
At Brightside Cafe, different is good.
“Everyone may look at us like we are so different,” Fowler said, “but then they come in and they want to come back, and that’s what Brightside is about.”
Watch the clip below:
