New Butler business combines coffee and job opportunities for those with disabilities
Terry Kaiserman and Nadine Tripodi have combined coffee and employment opportunities for people with disabilities through a nonprofit recently opened in Butler.
Butler Coffee Lab, at 113 East Cunningham St., serves as a manufacturing facility for HotPods — a single-brew pod similar to Keurig K-Cups — for a wide variety of coffee, tea and lemon drink recipes.
The nonprofit sells 36 flavors, many with distinctive twists. Some include honey or cinnamon. Others include turmeric, reishi mushrooms and Carolina Reaper peppers.
From the Cunningham Street location, the staff produces the HotPods, which can be purchased in person from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays or at butlercoffeelab.com. Customers also can enjoy a freshly brewed pod while visiting the shop.
“Long-term, I see this being a tasting center, where people could come in, try it,” Kaiserman said. “If they like it, buy it.”
For now, however, the focus is on the product — and which flavors customers enjoy the most. Some tastings held throughout the city have led the duo to look into “healthy” additions to the menu.
Kaiserman assures there is a variety of coffees, including light, medium and dark roasts.
“What we are trying to do now is create a quality product that people love to drink,” Kaiserman said. “Our goal is, when we move on in the sunset, have this as a legacy.”
The idea to launch a nonprofit formed when Tripodi, who recently had retired, and Kaiserman were thinking of ways to give back to the community.
They have been working on their new ventures, Butler Coffee Lab and HotPods since last summer.
Taste-testing, however, began more recently. Kaiserman and Tripodi have been creating drink recipes and running taste-testing panels with friends and family for the past five months.
Kaiserman and Tripodi wanted to create the opportunity to give people with disabilities the opportunity to work, gain workplace experience and knowledge, and make their own money. Tripodi’s daughter, Tess, has a disability and lives in a group home.
“We thought that we would take this opportunity to try to help the disabled community to find a space to work, earn money, and be able to have some camaraderie (and) pride in manufacturing a product,” Kaiserman said. “Whatever profits we have we will donate back into that same community.”
Employees would be earning a living wage, as the initial hourly starting rate is $15.
“We need to make about 2,000 pods a day in order to stay profitable and pay the (wage) rates that we want to pay,” Kaiserman said.
According to Kaiserman, there are more than 700 people with disabilities in Butler County that want to work but struggle to find employment.
Kaiserman said they have spent the past few weeks unveiling their product in Butler, starting with the Butler Art Center’s reopening March 24 and 25. All proceeds from the reopening were donated to the art center.
During the art center’s reopening, four people with disabilities approached Kaiserman and Tripodi and asked for jobs.
Kaiserman said they are working with the Blind Association of Butler and Armstrong, and The Arc of Butler County to bring people to apply and be interviewed.
“If they can come in here, learn how to get along with others, work, learn how to be in a business environment, and earn money — this could be an entry-level job for them,” Kaiserman said.
Butler Coffee Lab aims to create quality coffee, tea and lemon drinks that are tasty and healthy — it doesn’t skip steps and it uses natural ingredients, avoiding harmful additives and processing.
“We talk like this is something so altruistic when we started, (but the) bottom line is we couldn’t get a good cup of coffee in the morning at home,” Tripodi said.
They are hopeful their business will expand into fundraising efforts for private groups or events that would have limited-edition art on HotPods.
Additionally, they are hopeful that their business will someday spread with the addition of franchised locations, however, there would be no franchise fees, Kaiserman said.
They hope their East Cunningham Street location will become their hub. Kaiserman and Tripodi would provide the less than $10,000 in machine costs, and franchises would have the ability to use premade inventory to immediately turn a profit.
“We have a lot of layers of who we want to be. It’s not just we want to sell Pods, we want to make money; that isn’t us,” Kaiserman said. “It’s about people first, because this environment is to help the individuals.”
Quality assurance is important to the folks at Butler Coffee Lab, and every HotPod is sequentially numbered and can be looked up on its website. Information provided includes lot numbers, drink by dates and the names of employees that packed and labeled the Pods.
“It is a leg up on the quality standards that we believe in,” Kaiserman said.
According to Kaiserman, the Art Center will host an art exhibit showcasing art created by artists with disabilities in November. Butler Coffee Lab is hopeful to work with the Art Center and artists to purchase the art and use it for limited edition designs on the HotPods.
“We can show other businesses in Butler County that you can make money by hiring disabled individuals because they are just as good as anybody else,” Kaiserman said. “There’s wonderful individuals that are looking for work.”
To apply for a position at Butler Coffee Lab or to purchase HotPods, contact Kaiserman at terry@butlercoffeelab.com, or visit the website www.butlercoffeelab.com.
