Accessible Santa Barbara Cafe Eyes Winter Opening

Downtown Santa Barbara is about to get a new kind of coffeehouse — one where the Braille menus, the lighting, the seating, and, most importantly, the paychecks are all designed with people with disabilities in mind.

State of Mind Cafe, a nonprofit that would be Santa Barbara's first cafe built specifically for and with the disability community, is working toward a December opening at 918 State St., the former home of Cookie Plug, as Noozhawk first reported. If all goes to plan, it will serve coffee from a woman- and LGBTQ+-owned roaster, pastries from a catering service that trains workers with disabilities, and a lesson in what an genuinely inclusive "third space" can look like on a State Street corridor still finding its post-pandemic footing.

The Gap That Inspired It

The idea grew out of founder and executive director Rebecca Benozare's work with philanthropist Sarah Miller McCune, where she collaborated with a range of community organizations. What she noticed, again and again, was what was missing.

"I just realized that there are not a lot of places that are specifically designed with (people with disabilities) in mind," Benozare told Noozhawk.

That absence isn't unique to Santa Barbara. Roughly one in four American adults lives with some form of disability, and everyday businesses — from cafes to retail shops — are rarely designed around their needs. Wheelchair-accessible tables, Braille menus, and staff trained to assist customers with a wide range of disabilities remain the exception rather than the rule, even in a city that prides itself on community.

For Chris Benedict, a member of the cafe's steering committee who has cerebral palsy, the project answers a long-held personal ambition. A longtime Santa Barbara DJ and public speaker, Benedict said he had dreamed of creating an accessible gathering space for years but never had the resources. "I heard about this (cafe), and this is my dream come to fruition," he said.

Designing Every Detail

A steering committee of community members — including people with disabilities themselves — is guiding the cafe's design down to the details: Braille menus, recessed lighting to reduce sensory overload, and accessible seating throughout the space.

Skylar Covich, a steering committee member who has been blind since birth and serves on the city's Access Advisory Committee, said the challenges go beyond physical layout. Staff at typical restaurants and shops often simply don't know how to help customers with different kinds of disabilities. He has been using his community connections to spread the word — recruiting volunteers and letting people with disabilities know the space is coming — and said everyone he's spoken with has been supportive.

"I'm really hoping that with State of Mind Cafe, it can be a space for education, but also a space for people to gather and feel really comfortable," Covich said.

The cafe's vendors reinforce its mission. Coffee will come from Welcome Coffee, a woman- and LGBTQ+-owned roasting company, and pastries from Mo's To-Go, a catering service that supports training and employment for people with disabilities.

More Than a Coffee Shop

State of Mind Cafe is structured as a nonprofit, with proceeds donated to community organizations advancing inclusion — among them the Grace Fisher Foundation, the Down Syndrome Association of Santa Barbara, and Autism Embrace. The organization also serves as fiscal sponsor for the Léni Fé Bland Performing Arts Fund and the Sara Fund.

By day, coffee; by night, culture. In the evenings, the space will transform into an arts and culture hub where local artists of all abilities can host events and share their work. Benedict hopes to hold public-speaking training sessions there.

Perhaps most significantly for families across the South Coast, the cafe will employ people with disabilities — a point that resonates deeply with Melissa Fitch, president of the Down Syndrome Association of Santa Barbara County and a State of Mind community partner. Her 24-year-old son Ryan, who has Down syndrome, will work at the cafe, and he also hopes to sell T-shirts from his own business there.

"Our loved ones with disabilities need more opportunities in this community to get actual employment that is gainful," Fitch said. "I'm excited for Ryan to have the opportunity to really have a place where he can work and be appreciated."

A Model Others Could Copy

Project manager and general manager Katelyn Tymon has bigger ambitions than a single storefront. She told Noozhawk she wants the cafe to become a replicable business model — one that can be duplicated to create more accessible spaces and employment opportunities for people with disabilities in Santa Barbara and across the country.

"The hope is that this becomes a regular thing that can really benefit the disability community as a whole," Tymon said.

The path to a winter opening is still being paved. With the lease formalized Sept. 1, per Noozhawk's reporting, the team is moving into permitting and renovations. To help cover renovation costs, it has launched a $100,000 fundraising campaign, which had raised just over 10% of its goal as of late August.

The timing matters for downtown Santa Barbara. State Street has spent years reimagining itself, and new tenants that draw the community together — a nonprofit cafe that doubles as an arts venue, staffed in part by workers with disabilities — are exactly the kind of anchor local boosters say the corridor needs.

For Benedict, the stakes are simpler and more personal. "I'm really hoping that this cafe is going to shine a bright light into what people with disabilities are able to do, and what they are able to achieve," he said.

If the fundraising and renovations stay on track, that light will switch on — with recessed fixtures, naturally — sometime this December at 918 State St.