WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Bitty and Beau's coffee shop is shutting down one of its locations at the end of the month.

The company employs people with special needs, and after three years in Winston-Salem, it will close, leaving about 20 people without a job.

The owner of the shop said they’re not allowed to speak about the closing. 

But employees and their parents spoke Tuesday about the announcement. 

Longtime drink maker Eden Porter said she was surprised to learn the news. 

“It was very shocking and very sad for me to come to terms with that because this is my first job, and a lot of jobs are hard for me to work at, but I think we have all learned so much,” Porter said. 

Bitty and Beau's started with 19 employees, opening its first location in Wilmington in 2016. It was founded by Amy and Ben Wright.

Nine years later, the company is in 11 states and employs more than 450 people living with different disabilities.

Working in the coffee shop was also Jeremiah Morton's first job.

His mother, Allison Morton, said she’s grateful for the experience her son had, but she was less surprised about the shop's abrupt closing after seeing other locations shut down around the country.

“The work environment for him has been so positive, and he’s loved his time here,” she said. “The work environment for him has been so positive, and he’s loved his time here,” she said. 

“I just, I want other families, though, to be careful, to know that there might be things to look out for,” Morton said.

The Ann Arbor, Michigan, location, which also opened in 2022, closed earlier this year, followed by the Birmingham, Alabama, location this month. 

Still, the franchise has expanded this year to two new locations in Ohio.

“That seems like exploitation of my children and our collective special needs children as a whole, that they are propping up a corporation while the local business fails,” Morton said. 

Porter was able to line up a job working with students with special needs at a local school, while others are still looking for work. 

“Most places just say you have to apply online. And applying online for an individual with special needs is a barrier to employment,” Morton said. “You don't see the real person. You don't see the personality, the joy that they bring to their work.” 

Other than the Winston-Salem location, two other shops are still open in the state.

For those working at the Winston-Salem shop, the last day will be May 27.