Leah Meyer is a present wrapped in blue and yellow, an entrepreneur who wears the colours of Down syndrome consciousness.
She bakes pastries and works the espresso machine on the Mermaid Café, the espresso store she based in Could. She hosts her personal present on YouTube, Cooking With Leah.
As Meyer defined to the Down Syndrome Affiliation of South Texas Convention in February, “I’m an actress, a mannequin, a social media influencer, a chef and now, a restaurant proprietor.”
Briefly, she is a Christmas miracle.
Look beneath the tree: Will probably be arduous to seek out something as marvelous and shifting as Meyer’s story. The Mermaid Café is the success of a dream. At age 4, Meyer instructed her dad and mom she wished to open a restaurant. At 24, she did.
The cafe’s web site affords a easy descriptor — “Specialty Espresso by Particular Folks” — and a greeting from the founder:
“I’m Leah Meyer and my household and I’ve set out on a journey to launch a espresso store on a mission to make use of folks with disabilities to serve in all capacities whereas serving up elevated espresso, candy treats and eats with a smile.”
Behind the pastry case and low machines are workers who’re listening to impaired and autistic. 4 have Down syndrome. One works from a wheelchair. Drew and Karen Meyer, Leah’s dad and mom, wished to rent a workers of principally workers with disabilities.
“Our aim was to hit 70%,” Karen stated. “We’re at 80%. That is what inclusion appears to be like like.”
Leah units the instance. She makes just about everybody snug. She collaborates with Marisol Deluna New York and its line of tieless aprons and accessible kitchen objects referred to as Little Pickle and Patty Cake, that are bought at La Villita.
And she or he’s participated in Marisol Deluna New York Basis trend reveals, together with one on the Arneson River Theater in 2024.
Then there’s movie. Leah will seem in a thriller, “Metal Phoenix,” produced by San Antonio’s Taylor James Johnson and scheduled for launch in 2026. Karen stated she will be able to’t reveal a lot concerning the movie however provided this: “There’s a lot of motion and Leah’s character is correct in the midst of all of it.”
A dream come true
Drew and Karen all the time knew their daughter was totally different.
When Leah was a bit lady, she didn’t like cartoons. She liked to look at Meals Community. She absorbed hours and hours of cooking reveals and aspired to grow to be like her favourite chef, Rachael Ray.
“She’s my position mannequin,” stated Leah, now 25.
She additionally drew inspiration from a Disney character, Tiana, who opened a restaurant in “The Princess and the Frog.”
“I’m a dreamer,” Leah stated. “I like baking.”
Karen smiled, nodding in settlement.
“Ever since she was little, she was all the time working within the kitchen,” Karen stated. “And she or he simply all the time stated, ‘I need to have a restaurant.’”
Drew marvels. “She is an entrepreneur at coronary heart,” he stated. “She has the most important coronary heart and is continually pondering of how to incorporate folks in everthing she does.”
Leah’s dad and mom put muscle and cash into her dream two and a half years in the past. After her sister, Ana, and brother, Kane, moved into maturity, Leah’s father left his profession within the meals truck enterprise. Karen put aside time from her speech pathology observe. They constructed the Mermaid Café and issued a social media name: We’re hiring. Please apply!
Dozens of purposes poured in.
“We had such an inflow.” stated Karen, who continues her observe. “It exceeded our expectations — by far.”
The Meyers made operations special-needs pleasant. They put in a push-button espresso machine. They ready pastry dough prematurely for baking.
“We set programs in place so that folks may discover ways to do every part,” Karen stated. “There will probably be days when Drew will come residence and say, ‘I didn’t make a espresso at present as a result of the workers did all of it.’”
The café serves a wide range of coffees and gluten-free treats, corresponding to pumpkin bread, cinnamon rolls and blueberry muffins. The menu additionally contains scorching chocolate, teas, quiches and the latest merchandise: grilled cheese and tomato soup. Most of it’s ready by the workers.
“I’m simply spreading consciousness,” stated Leah, who makes use of social media accounts to share her message.
Vacation cheer at Mermaid Café
Leah isn’t the primary restaurateur with Down syndrome. Tim Harris opened Tim’s Place in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2010 to a lot buzz. The restaurant closed in 2015 when Harris moved to Colorado and have become a motivational speaker.
At Mermaid Café on Blanco Highway, Leah and her co-workers serve and mingle with a various clientele: some with particular wants, others with out disabilities. A man-made tree stands within the nook, lit and flocked, surrounded by merchandise, which might be bought for the vacations.
The espresso store is closed at present. Leah is celebrating Christmas together with her dad and mom and siblings at residence. Santa arrives every year and locations presents beneath the tree. In her stocking is a clue for a scavenger hunt that follows. Santa leaves a succession of clues on the Meyer residence that lead the siblings to a different reward.
Seated at the back of her espresso store, Leah smiles. “That’s my favourite custom,” she stated. “I’m superb at it.”
The Mermaid Café re-opens on Friday. It’s Leah’s pleased place. A spot the place she shares espresso, smiles and hugs. A spot with a reminder on the again wall, illuminated in pink: “I’m sufficient… “
Leah needs everybody to know: they’re, too.
