Stella Nova, an Oklahoma coffee shop chain, announced it would donate all four locations to Not Your Average Joe, a local nonprofit coffee shop with a mission to provide jobs to people with disabilities.
The new locations will use the same coffee and carry the same mission that Not Your Average Joe does while allowing current Stella Nova employees to keep their jobs. Stella Nova employees will be trained on how to work with adults with special needs.
The new locations include shops in Norman, downtown Oklahoma City, Crown Heights and Edmond. Not Your Average Joe will have a total of 12 locations, including its current five locations in Midtown, downtown Oklahoma City, Norman, Choctaw and Broken Arrow. The total locations also include ABE’s, a coffee roastery, and a catering kitchen both owned by Not Your Average Joe.
“The generosity of this gift from Stella Nova will enable us to blend the best of both worlds,” Tim Herbal, founder and executive director of Not Your Average Joe, wrote in a press release. “This gift will help us continue dispensing caffeine and hope across Oklahoma and the world.”
Kelli Lay, CEO and co-founder of Stella Nova, wrote in an email that the chain originally met with Not Your Average Joe to discuss selling its products in Stella Nova stores, but after hearing about its mission, plans changed.
“During those visits, we were amazed by the mission of Not Your Average Joe,” Lay wrote. “We believed that they could take our mission to the next level. Stella Nova is very happy that our cafes will be taken to the next level of community.”
The new stores will begin serving the Not Your Average Joe menu, including more food options like breakfast burritos, sandwiches and ice cream.
According to the release, Not Your Average Joe plans to create 100 new jobs in 2025 with the support of the community.
An anonymous donor has also given Not Your Average Joe a $200,000 matching grant challenge to facilitate a smooth transition by adding 100 new jobs for those with special needs.
This story was edited by Ismael Lele, Anusha Fathepure and Ana Barboza. Gretchen Schultz and Avery Avery copy edited this story
