MARCH 12 • 2020 | 11
TWENTY-FIVE YEARS
Get involved, go to friendshipcircle.org/foreverfriendship
W
est Bloomfield is home to a
fine dining experience that
is transforming the lives
of adults with special needs. Opened
in 2016, Soul Café is dedicated to
empowering adults through on-the-
job training in this state-of-the-art
kosher restaurant.
“
The inspiration for Soul Café began
between 2011 and 2013 when we
started hearing from our Friendship
Circle families who had been with
us since we began in 1994,”
says
Friendship Circle Co-Founder Bassie
Shemtov. “
Some of our first buddies
were now adults and were at home
without any real purposeful things to
do.”
Once again, Shemtov was inspired
to create a space for these amazing
souls to shine and connect with the
community. The Friendship Circle
team began looking for a space to
create vocational training when they
heard about cafés in other parts of
the country that were being managed
daily by individuals with special needs.
“
Many adults with special needs
are not able to get jobs,”
Shemtov
says. “
But they want to give back and
work. This idea has inspired not only
us, but so many other companies are
now seeing the amazing shift in the
dynamic of their organizations by
bringing in these incredible people to
work with them.”
General Manager Shalom Shomer
runs the café. It also includes Epic
Kosher Catering/Milk & Honey.
Supervision is by the Council of
Orthodox Rabbis. Currently, the
restaurant offers hands-on training
to adults with special needs in areas
of food prep, cooking, hosting and
serving, and other skills. Chef Frank
Turner heads up the Soul Café with
more than 30 years of experience in
culinary arts and teaching. The café
offers a full kosher menu featuring
gourmet soups, salads, sandwiches
pizzas and pastas.
“
This model is so inclusive,”
Shemtov says. “
Our staff with special
needs work alongside our training
staff to strengthen their skillsets and
get them ready to work with custom-
ers.”
Soul Café has 25 full- and part-
time employees; seven of whom
are being trained and five who have
graduated from the training program.
Unique to Soul Café, two of its former
team-members graduated the pro-
gram and are now employed at other
restaurants in the area.
Soul Café is located at the
Friendship Circle’
s Farber Center
and was dedicated by Alene Landau,
Graham Landau and Larry Jackier,
trustees of the Louis and Edith
Blumberg Foundation. The Farber
Center is home to the Dresner
Foundation Soul Studio as well as
the Soul Café. Both provide a loving
and inclusive environment for artistic
self-expression, vocational training
and employment opportunities.
Soul Cafe is also a part of the vision
that was made possible by the Farber
Family.
“
In the year before he passed away,
Bill Farber spent a lot of time in the
café. In fact, his favorite dish was blin-
tzes, and now we call them ‘
Bill-intzes’
in his honor,”
says Levi Shemtov,
co-founder of Friendship Circle.
“
I once approached Bill and I saw
him really having nachas while look-
ing at the full crowd in the café. He
asked me if I knew why people kept
coming back here to eat. Bill said, ‘
The
food is good. But, it’
s not because of
the food. It’
s because eating here fills
their Jewish heart.’
”
Soul Café
Feeds the Soul,
Empowers
Adults with
Special Needs