Creating work-life balance at Kickback Cafe

[playful, plucky strings] [steam wand whooshes] – Elizabeth Donoghue: We wanted to provide something that downtown Oregon didn’t have, which was an inclusive, welcoming, cheerful place that affirms the neurodivergent community.
It affects every demographic, no matter what your race is, your socioeconomic background, your level of education.
The neurodivergence shows up everywhere, and it’s not a visible disability.
[plucky strings] My name’s Elizabeth Donahue.
I’ve owned the Kickback Cafe for just a little over three years.
We wanted a space where not only were we going to intentionally employ folks from that community, but we were going to make sure that people understood they were very, very welcome here, and just to create communities within communities.
We just have fun with the space.
Elizabeth: I have a background in baking, but my husband was suffering with some mental and physical health issues.
And this would have been a good 10 years ago or more now.
And we had to make the decision to take him out of the workforce.
And it took quite a while, and our savings were dwindling.
In addition, two of my children are autistic, and two of my children have ADHD.
So, I started baking from home, and there was a big demand for it.
So, I was looking around for that commercial kitchen space, and I found the Chocolate Caper here in Oregon, which was a longstanding business– over 30 years already.
So, I needed to lay the foundations for my own family.
I know that at least two of my children will struggle in a traditional workforce setting.
Well, they’re not going to struggle here, you know, and I’m able to extend that same grace to everyone.
[dreamy, sun-soaked electric guitar and drums] People don’t realize how simple accommodations are.
When people hear “accommodations,” I think, as employers, they feel very intimidated by that word.
But it’s really very simple, and it’s really mostly communication.
People are encouraged to just tell us that you need to step away.
Tell us if you’re having a hard day and you need to leave because it’s too much for you, and you’re not going to be penalized for that.
We also don’t force conformity.
There’s a million ways to do a good job.
If we’re providing wonderful service, that’s all that matters here.
What I find is that by treating employees like actual people, they really rise to the occasion for you.
– Mateo Kretschman: I work at Kickback here, and I really enjoy it.
When I worked at other jobs, I didn’t really talk with many people there.
I was kind of just working and just would go there, work, and go home.
When I come to Kickback, I talk with mostly everyone, and it’s just– that makes me feel more welcome than I already am.
Kickback is a very special place, one of a kind.
– Tyson Purcell: And it says right on the door that it’s, you know, for, like, “neurodiverse environment,” and I’m neurodiverse.
I have ADHD.
And I was like, “Oh, well, yeah, let’s go check this place out.”
And as soon as I stepped in, I was like, “Yeah, this place is kind of quirky,” and, you know, “it’s interesting.”
At the time, I had been kind of going through a depressive episode, and I was just trying to get back on my feet.
And, you know, I’d been fired from jobs before, and, you know, I kind of was in that pattern.
So, when I came in and sat down for the interview, they were like, “Yeah, we understand.
“We have other ADHDers “who have gone through the same exact sort of thing.
And we get it.”
[bright piano and accordion] Having to unlearn that kind of negative talk has taken me so many years.
Most of my other jobs are, “How can I hide my ADHD?”
instead of just say, “This is who I am.
Can you help me work with what I’ve got?”
So, it’s all about that work environment.
And then, you add the fact that, like, you know, the pumpkin muffins are really tasty.
That’s nice!
[laughs warmly] [joyful, sprightly waltz] – Elizabeth: I think we should just all be more curious about each other, right?
And so, I’m happy to be on the forefront of something that people are maybe not as aware of or not as exposed to, and to show them that it’s not scary.
Once you learn more about anyone, it’s less and less intimidating.
Because it’s not really just the neurodivergent, right?
We all deserve to be treated like human beings, and everyone has a fundamental right to earn a living.
So, how do you get that for people?
Sometimes, you have to create it yourself, and that’s what we did.