Danya’s Coffee Barrel has a model for inclusion

IN years past, when one thought of the bustling downtown Kingston, a quaint, quiet coffee shop selling delicious Jamaican-grown coffee and home-made meals may not have been the first thing to come to mind. Much less, a location that boasts total inclusion — from it’s equal opportunity hiring practices, which give opportunities to those with disabilities, to promoting financial inclusion by incorporating a variety of payment options, including Jamaica’s only digital wallet, Lynk.

Yet in 2019, in an 800-square-foot space on Port Royal Street, Danya’s Coffee Barrel added something unique to the downtown landscape that has only grown in size and scope since.

Danya’s Coffee Barrel is a joint venture from mother-daughter duo Danya and Brittany Ho, who had always dreamt of owning a sidewalk café downtown. With backgrounds in nursing and hospitality, the two stumbled into the food and beverage sector, guided by a mutual love of food and service. The name Danya’s Coffee Barrel was reserved at the Companies Office of Jamaica some 20 years ago, anchoring a dream Danya knew would come true one day. In November 2019, the doors of Danya’s Coffee Barrel finally opened to the public. The cosy café serves up an expanded menu of standard café drinks and bites and heart-warming home-made creations ranging from pastries to soups, salads, quiches, pastas, pot pies and other specialty meals and hot plates. They also offer catering and pre-prepared frozen meals for customers to have on hand for a special occasion, family gathering or just a night in.

The essence of the business, though, is coffee. They wanted to create their own unique ambience and offering, all bolstered by the sweet aroma of Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee. Providing top-quality, locally-grown coffee was non-negotiable for them. From the very beginning, they knew they had to partner with none other than Deaf Can! Coffee.

Deaf Can! Coffee is a social enterprise that expertly grows its own Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee while training deaf youth in the art of coffee and pastry-making. Their ultimate mission is to affirm young people in their identity as deaf people and uplift them in both their personal and professional development. A wider goal is encouraging an understanding and spirit of inclusivity throughout society.

Deaf Can! Coffee is the exclusive coffee partner of Danya’s, supplying them with coffee beans, coffee equipment and a team of baristas, full time throughout the week.

On the heels of their third anniversary, Brittany Ho, general manager of Danya’s Coffee Barrel, tells the story of how they practice inclusion within their business.

“The only thing that I had as a must-have when starting this business was Deaf Can! Before we started this venture, I didn’t know much about coffee other than that I drank it by the gallon. So it was important to me to know my strengths and do things right. After all, we are a coffee shop at our core. Deaf Can! was the only option for me,” she shared. “Using Deaf Can! and learning their language to be able to communicate with them didn’t really feel like a deliberate inclusion move for me. First and foremost, I chose Deaf Can! because they know coffee.”

Providing a top-quality product was imperative for Brittany. Working with Deaf Can! was not an effort to fill a diversity quota; Brittany respected their business model—who they are, what they stand for, how they operate—and most importantly, for her and Danya’s Coffee Barrel, the product that Deaf Can! creates.

Bringing Deaf Can! on board as an exclusive partner was a no-brainer, so they needed to learn to communicate efficiently and effectively to integrate their baristas into the existing Danya’s team. “It’s just like if I were to hire someone whose first language was not English. I would also want to be able to communicate with that person in a way that doesn’t make them feel like they have to meet me 100 per cent of the way. I think it’s basic human courtesy and really is just a matter of respecting that they communicate in a different language and in a different way.”

For Brittany, this inclusion process came naturally because of the fundamental alignment of both Danya’s and Deaf Can! as it relates to mutual respect, understanding and a love for what they do.

Inclusion bleeds through every fibre of Danya’s Coffee Barrel’s business model. From making Deaf Can! baristas a part of their permanent team to encouraging curiosity and learning opportunities with customers through communicating with the Deaf Can! team to using as many local ingredients and suppliers as possible.

One of the ways that Danya’s champions inclusion is by offering multiple payment options for their customers to ensure everyone can enjoy the Danya’s Coffee Barrel experience.

“Digital is the way the world is moving, so in addition to the usual POS system, we are really happy to be able to now accept payments through Lynk as well. Opening a bank account has to be one of the most arduous processes, and when it comes to accessibility for the deaf community, the process, I’m sure, must be that much more complicated. Lynk helps to eliminate so many of the existing financial barriers for both us as the merchant and the customer. So, when it comes to usage of the system for my team and convenience for the customer, it really is a win-win,” Brittany explained.

“I firmly believe in meeting people halfway,” Brittany reiterated. For her and her team, this means mutual understanding and effort to get the job done well and finding innovative and dynamic ways to provide solutions and opportunities to everyone who walks through the door.

Guided by their philosophy to meet people halfway, Danya’s has a bright future ahead for the growth of the business, and they plan to bring their Deaf Can! family along with them for the ride.

“I didn’t know any sign language when I started with them, and the team and I have learnt together, teaching each other along the way,” Brittany said. “It has been such a beautiful journey and has really taught us a lot of lessons both in business and in life.”