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The Mermaid Cafe, a cafe that hires individuals with disabilities, opened its doors on May 5. It was founded by Leah Meyer, who lives with Down syndrome, and her parents Drew and Karen Meyer.
Visitors to the Mermaid Cafe are welcomed by calming aqua and pink colors and the aroma of fresh coffee and gluten-free baked goods. The dream that once began in the Meyer family's kitchen when Leah was a child has blossomed into Leah’s own dream of owning a cafe being realized.
Karen Meyer said the journey to establishing The Mermaid Cafe is more than they ever imagined.
“We have lots of families that come in that have a child with a disability, and they come in and they just want to just sit for a minute and just take it all in,” she said. “And they come in, maybe just to support us, and then they come back for that hope, because they watch our employees, and they get that sense that there's more down the road for their own child.”
“I feel great. Really, I feel great,” said Leah Meyer. “It's started taking off, and I’m pretty much happy. Pretty much.”
Cody Murray, who is on the autism spectrum, is one of The Mermaid Cafe’s employees. His job consists of serving pastry and drink orders. He takes the orders and reads them from behind the counter.
“I pick up baked goods, whatever they ordered, and deliver just to the tables,” said Murray. “(The) best part for me is working with co-workers.”
The Mermaid Cafe is already garnering awards.
“We won the Lex Frieden award for small business,” said Karen Meyer. “It was for hiring those with disabilities in the whole state of Texas. It was a great honor just to be among all these different employers, large businesses and nonprofits.”
Karen and Leah Meyer said Taylor Swift-themed cake pops are a favorite. They created the orange and green treats to match the theme of Swift’s new album.
One drink that is unique to the menu is the Lala Latte, one of Leah’s favorites.
“So when (Leah) was younger, one of our babysitters, they decided to take the kids to the coffee shop … and so Leah would get a vanilla latte with one pump vanilla, because we didn't want it to be too sweet,” said Meyer. “And she couldn't quite pronounce ‘vanilla,’ and so she would say, ‘la la’ latte."
The cafe sells its own merchandise alongside its baked goods.
“We have some kids shirts and adult shirts,” said Karen Meyer. “We have some cool flannels,” said Meyer. “And we have our bakery case that has spider cookies and chocolate chip cookies and some spooky mummies and, of course, cake pops. Gotta have the cake pops. Those are one of our favorites.”
The Mermaid Cafe is also making plans for the holidays with gluten-free pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving.
Customer Wanda Levy and her husband Kenneth enjoyed their first time at The Mermaid Cafe. They live in the area and decided to stop in.
“It’s very pleasant. It’s quiet, it’s not crazy noisy. It’s beautifully decorated,” said Levy. “We had heard that (the owner) was a daughter that had a disability, that the parents were helping her get started ... so that’s why we had wanted to come originally.”
Karen and Leah Meyer would like to see their brand expand.
“This has been so amazing,” said Karen Meyer. “To watch our employees and what we've seen— just the growth—in five months … just their skills and just so many different things that we just didn't even imagine. So we, of course, would like to grow so that we could hire more, because right now we have 15 employees, and we can't hire anymore unless we have another location or more business.”
There’s a pink neon sign in the back of the Mermaid Cafe that reads “I am enough,” something Leah’s parents have always instilled in her and that customers can be reminded of themselves.
The Mermaid Cafe is located at 14415 Blanco Road, Suite 110, in San Antonio.
