Baked goods, smoothies and hot drinks sold out fast when Friendly Faces Café threw open its doors last Friday inside Friendly’s at Foxmoor Shopping Center, straddling the Hamilton-Robbinsville line. The new coffee counter isn’t just another neighborhood pit stop — every participant working the register, prepping drinks or handling behind-the-scenes tasks has an intellectual or developmental disability, and the ribbon-cutting drew a crowd big enough to empty the pastry case.
The café is an initiative of MACS Potential, described by TAPinto as a 501(c)(3) organization that provides employment training and social-skills practice for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. According to the outlet’s coverage of the October 30 opening, Friendly Faces Café gives participants a place to develop skills, earn paychecks, interact with neighbors and take part meaningfully in community life. Those comfortable with customers get customer-facing roles, while other participants take on behind-the-scenes responsibilities — a setup designed to match each person’s comfort level and ability.
Co-founder Sarah Reggimenti, who launched the Friendly Faces Café initiative alongside Leslie Marchio, put the mission plainly: everyone deserves to have a paying job, to be part of their community, and to do something meaningful, per the same TAPinto account. Reggimenti also said participants genuinely want to be at the café and take pride in receiving paychecks. Marchio has a daughter who experienced learning issues and is reportedly training to help others with behavioral challenges, a personal thread running through the project’s origins.
A Donated Space and a Mayor’s Welcome
The café occupies restaurant space inside Friendly’s donated by owner Lee Paroly, who said he was proud to support an initiative that helps employees feel their true worth. Paroly, who also backs community efforts including Cone with a Cop and a charity softball game with the Miracle League, said doing nice things for the community is the most important thing he can do and that he simply wants to see people smile…