Long Island Cafe Grants Developmentally Disabled Cooks Independence & Income

OLD BETHPAGE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- There's something new cooking on Long Island – a takeout food catering service run by the developmentally disabled.

In addition to serving food, Terry's Café creates new horizons and careers, CBS2's Andrea Grymes reported.

For years, the trained cooks have been preparing breakfast and lunch for the staff inside the headquarters of FREE, which is a non-profit agency that helps thousands of developmentally disabled people in Nassau County.

Now, the culinary artists are going public.

"We're having proper equipment put in, phone lines, direct lines to the café and direct lines to email service where people can actually place orders," manager Greg Varro said.

Chef Bill Harold has a lot of experience creating tasty dishes.

"I went to Johnson and Whales Institute for Culinary Arts and I've been cooking for 30 years," he said.

Harold has already trained several other cooks, and they are being paid for their hard work in the newly renovated kitchen.

"Some people like bacon, some people don't like bacon, or they want extra cheese. That's me they see when they want something special on their burgers or sandwiches," June Mills said.

Customers will be able to download a menu featuring meals for less than $5.

Terry's Café already has one public outlet. They're selling sandwiches, wraps and chocolate chip cookies at the new welcome center on the Long Island Expressway.

"It's a great way for them to develop and enhance their skills and get their product out there. I think it's wonderful," Stacey Ferrara, of Central Islip, said.

Café managers said that's exactly the point.

"Our main focus is independence. The men and women we serve can get a job anywhere," Varro said.

Inspectors from the Nassau County Department of Health just gave the café a perfect score.
Terry's Café can be reached at 516-970-1789. It's also listed on GrubHub.