Abilities Cafe has a brief but successful run at Schilling Cafe, with sights on a permanent spot.

Lorraine Gonzales spent her career teaching special education, with a focus on transitions for 18- to 22-year-olds making their way into adult life. This transition is generally easy for no one, but for people with disabilities it can be even harder. One difficulty: finding employment. 

As a teacher for this transition-aged group, Gonzales could place students in volunteer internships in a variety of roles. "I would see just how much my students would blossom, feeling part of their community," Gonzales says. "Once they aged out at 22, only 1 to 2 percent of my past students have had employment afterwards. It almost seemed cruel to get them excited about it, knowing it would not really happen." 

According to data from the California State Council on Developmental Disabilities, the unemployment rate for people with developmental disabilities was a whopping 86 percent in 2021; for people with any disability, it was 59 percent.

So after Gonzales retired, she decided to help fill in the gap to make it really happen. She founded the nonprofit Abilities Communities Alliance in 2019, with the idea of opening a cafe. After the pandemic, it was time to start Abilities Cafe.

Schilling Cafe soft-opened in the County of Monterey campus on Schilling Place on Jan. 21, 2025, with a grand opening in late February. The cafe served mostly county government employees, a concept run by concessionaire, Alvarez Brothers and Sons, LLC. 

Abilities Cafe operated in the space on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, offering coffee, burritos and sandwiches. It meant Abilities Cafe could start operating without any upfront capital costs in an existing space. They started with 16 staff members and it was going well, but then the main concession operator withdrew due to personal reasons, and operations at Schilling Cafe ended on Aug. 29. 

(A county spokesperson says the cafe seating remains available for use, but without food and drink. Nothing has been determined yet as far as timing to release a new RFP seeking a new concessionaire.)

The end of Schilling Cafe last month meant the end of Abilities Cafe—for now. Gonzales is looking for a more permanent set-up, and is in conversation with Sand City city officials about taking over an abandoned bread truck adorned with artwork to transform it into a cafe trailer at the Sand City Art Park. 

"This is exactly the kind of thing that is in our vibrancy plan and that we want to help support and that council wants in the West End District of Sand City," City Manager Vibeke Norgaard says. "It's a wonderful idea."

It's just in the idea stage for now, she cautions—Abilities Cafe would need to apply for a conditional use permit and bring a health inspector to the site. Before any of that can begin, Sand City officials are trying to assess who actually owns the abandoned truck, and if it's city property. 

Meanwhile Gonzales is encouraging employers to give people with developmental disabilities a second look as prospective employees. She can help with job coaching to manage accommodations and also assuage concerns. "[Employers] say they wanted to open up an opportunity, but they saw it as a liability: 'Am I ADA-compliant, what if someone has an outburst?'" she says. Those are questions she is more than happy to answer as a coach and a champion for her clients.