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♪♪♪

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Jamie: Nikki!

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Christina: At the Kids 
Café in downtown Fresno,

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every customer here is 
delivered their food

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with a smile.

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Jamie: Erica!

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Angel: She has 
the best smile.

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Everyone who comes in 
just compliments her,

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her smile, even when I'm 
away at the office and they

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come up to me 
and they're all,

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"Oh, Jamie. She's 
such a, she's so lovely."

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They bring smiles 
to other people.

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Christina: 21-year-old Jamie 
Murphy works at Kids Café

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every weekday.... 
delivering orders,

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running the cash 
register and prepping food.

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She's one of about 50 
special education students

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learning job skills at this 
public restaurant owned and

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operated by the Fresno 
County Office of Education.

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Angel: We have autism, 
students with autism,

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students who are 
intellectually disabled,

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uh, we have a 
student, uh, who has a,

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uh, traumatic 
brain injury, um,

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we have a student who 
is hard of hearing,

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so we really have 
a wide range of,

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of students and 
their disabilities.

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For students with a 
limited, work skills,

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we usually do the 
real simple tasks,

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like we have them, 
wipe down tables,

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chairs, basic 
cleaning, sweeping,

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mopping, things like that.

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And then for our students 
with higher abilities,

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such as Jamie and 
Jesse, we have them on,

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um, the register.

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Jamie: What I like about it 
is like they teach you like

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what to do if you 
don't know and um.

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What else I 
like about it is,

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when the customers come 
in they say hi to you.

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The first time I was shy, 
and then I got used to it,

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what's it called, I 
wasn't shy after that.

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Christina: Fresno 
County Office of Education

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serves about 1,700 
special education students,

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including 18-to-22-year-olds 
enrolled in an adult

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transition program.

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Superintendent of Schools 
Jim Yovino says he wanted a

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place where those young 
adults could learn

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real- life skills.

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Jim: Really the 
main focus is to,

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one, socialize them, make 
sure they're out in the

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public, that people, 
uh, get to meet them,

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they get to meet the public.

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But also, uh, 
prepare them for life,

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and, and what I mean by that 
is to live independently,

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to seek employment and so 
what better way to do that

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than to open our own café?

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Christina: Of course, 
opening a café takes some

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expertise.

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So the county 
turned to Paul Romero,

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who previously managed 
a Cheesecake Factory

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restaurant.

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Paul: We tried 
really hard to uh,

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to use the same equipment, 
the same uh the same types

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of food, the same 
ingredients that they would

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see in a, in a full-service 
restaurant in the private

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sector.

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Um, we felt like it was 
important for our students

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to see where their food 
really comes from and how uh

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how the 
industry really works,

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rather than just 
giving them sort of a,

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a crutch to lean on while 
working here in the café.

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Jim: We wanted our kids to 
have an opportunity to learn

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the restaurant industry.

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We wanted to partner with 
our local restaurants and

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say, "Come on in, watch 
our young men and women.

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They're all employable.

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Christina: The students 
must earn a food safety

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certification in the 
classroom before they begin

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working in the café.

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Besides cooking 
and cleaning,

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they also learn 
important social skills.

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Angel: He really 
enjoys the register.

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That is like the one task 
here that they all

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love to do.

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Jesse: Ten

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Angel: We let 
them do what they have to

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do, and whenever they need 
our assistance we step in

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Leah: We started in 
January, and by June,

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we had totally 
different children.

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Parents were really 
surprised how much they had

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grown in so many areas.

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Much more than we had ever 
anticipated when we started

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the program.

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Christina: The downtown 
Fresno community has

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embraced Kids' Café, hiring 
them for catering jobs and

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filling tables at lunchtime.

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Antonio: I think it is 
amazing that they have a

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place that they can 
connect with the community,

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a place they can serve the 
community and gain the job

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skills they'll need as 
adults and be able to

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interact with people.

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I think it's amazing.

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Christina: And, they say 
the food is top-notch.

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Nikkie: Food was amazing.

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Antonio: Food was great.

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Nikkie: Chowder - poblano 
chowder soup was so good!

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Jim: We thought we were 
doing it for our kids.

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And what we found quickly, 
it was as important for our

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community.

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Most people are, they 
just don't know how to act,

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uh, around particularly 
kids with special needs.

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So what it's done is it's, 
it's really kind of opened

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up the eyes of 
many people to say,

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"Hey, these are 
beautiful children,

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they have g-, they 
have great gifts to give,

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and, uh, and we want 
to be part of that.

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Paul: This is more than just 
enriching the lives of the

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students individually.

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This is a call out to the 
restaurant industry

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as a whole.

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Uh, we need to start 
embracing uh these students

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as part of our workforce.

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Our students uh just want 
the chance to show that they

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can do and once our industry 
as a whole comes to accept

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that, I think uh I think 
everybody will be happy.