SCHENECTADY, N.Y.-- A new Schenectady eatery is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.
"Not many employers out there are willing to take a chance on people with developmental disabilities," said Sara Mae Hickey, owner of Puzzles Bakery and Cafe.
A brand new business in town is working to change that. Puzzles Bakery and Cafe on State Street aims to be a model for employers to hire adults with special needs.
"As these individuals age out of the education system, there's really not a lot of opportunities in the real world, and they need jobs and they want jobs and they make some of the best workers that an employer could ask for," Hickey explained.
She's dedicated to improving the drastic unemployment rate, taking inspiration from her twenty-two year old sister diagnosed with autism.
"We hire people across that huge spectrum, we have people of all different abilities," she said.
"I think it's great. I think it means more options, more opportunities," said Jaci Venditti, a customer from Brunswick.
As a mother of a twenty year old on the autism spectrum, Venditti said she's thrilled to see the bakery up and running, and sees it as possible future employment for her son.
"You have kids that are totally non verbal but can very well do things like clean tables, wash dishes, things like that, and then you have those that talk up a storm but just don't have the right social skills so you have to pull from their strengths," she explained.
Hickey added, "what a lot of people say about autism is if you know one person with autism, then you know one person with autism. They're all unique and different."
And at the bakery, they all fit in, like pieces of a puzzle.
"Hopefully like Sara says other businesses start to see what a great asset having these individuals can be and it starts to spread that's really what we need to happen," said Venditti.