PHOTOS: Coffee Shop opens at Emerald Coast Autism Center

Community leaders, chamber representatives, families, and students gathered this week at the Emerald Coast Autism Center (ECAC) for the official ribbon cutting of the Carter Cafe, a new training space supporting the Center’s Transition to Work program.

The event brought together members of the Niceville and Fort Walton Beach Chambers of Commerce, ECAC staff, college partners, and donors who helped make the expansion possible.

Honoring Community Support

The ceremony opened with words of gratitude for the broad coalition that supported the project. ECAC leadership, Staci Berryman and Heidi Blalock, highlighted the Center’s growth since it first came to campus, made possible through donated land from the college and philanthropic support.

Speaker 2 recalled that the Center opened its first building in 2016, thanks in part to the Destin Charity Wine Auction Foundation, and always anticipated future expansion.

“We knew that there would always be an expansion, and I do need to give a shout out to Joan and Steve Carter, because they really helped us, give us a push to get this building going and help us to really make this happen. And in honor of them, we have the Carter Cafe,” Heidi Blalock explained.

Transition to Work Program in Focus

While the new building has “lots of great things happening,” as Blalock noted, the day’s focus was squarely on the students enrolled in the Transition to Work program.

Transition to Work Coordinator Sonia Griffin explained how the Carter Cafe serves as both a community space and a real-world classroom.

“This cafe is one part of our Transition to Work program where students service and workplace skills in a supportive environment, Griffen told the 100 or so people in the audience. “Every customer that we serve is building confidence, independence, and real-world opportunities for our students, and we’re extremely excited to share this with our community.”

The Carter Cafe’s launch marks another milestone in ECAC’s ongoing expansion and its commitment to preparing students for life beyond school.

As Griffin put it, each customer who walks through the door is helping create “confidence, independence and real world opportunities” for students—one cup of coffee at a time.