McKinney’s beloved cafe with a mission gets a second location: Go for the food, leave with something more
“H” is for Hope, “U” for Understanding, “G” for Grace, “S” for Success … and now that McKinney-based Hugs Café has garnered the #7 spot on Yelp’s Top 100 Sandwich Shops in the US and opened a second location in Dallas, let’s add “Y” for famously “Yummy.”
In December, the beloved nonprofit opened an outpost in the Wilson Historic District. Breakfast and lunch are served 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
The tasty Peach Gobbler Sandwich satisfies with housemade peach chutney atop layers of juicy turkey, crisp bacon and sharp cheddar. Online reviewers gush about the PBLT with its Southern-style pimento cheese, also made in-house. The Morning Glory Muffins are studded with fruit and nuts, and don’t miss the Wedding Cake Cookies, always a hit.
But the real secret sauce here is Hugs’ dedicated staff, 81 percent of whom have intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Their tender smiles and eagerness to serve are what keeps patrons coming for more.
Above: Made-from-scratch muffins and coffee from White Rhino are on the breakfast menu. PHOTO COURTESY OF HUGS
Part of Hugs’ Dallas team: (bottom, l-r) Meshia, Amber, Matthew, (middle) George, Fabien, Isabella, (top) Lauren, Katie, Monique, Julia PHOTO BY TERRI TAYLOR
“When one of our staff asks, ‘How are you?’ ”, says Hugs CEO Lauren Smith, “they really want to know.”
Ten years ago, Hugs founder Ruth Thompson opened the flagship location with a mission to provide meaningful work and fair wages to a group many labeled as unemployable. She believed that adults with disabilities could be an asset to the workplace if taught the skills to succeed.
The organization’s success has far exceeded Ruth’s dream. Hugs employs more than 90 IDD associates at their establishments — two cafes and a greenhouse — and they are expanding their footprint.
“Having the Dallas extension has allowed us to double our impact,” says Lauren. The location was developed in just over a year, thanks to the generosity of The Meadows Foundation. “They gave us an opportunity of a lifetime,” she says: Hugs, which was awarded rent-free space, is joining 35 other nonprofits on the foundation’s 22-acre Wilson District campus.
The Hugs storefront, with its signature blue and green striped awnings, can be found at the corner of Live Oak and Oak streets. The cafe’s interior is as light-filled and cheerful as the people who work there. The open kitchen is separated from the dining area by a curvy half-wall tiled in blue and green.
When I mill about the kitchen, I meet Amber at her station, cutting kiwi for the lunchtime fruit bowls. “It’s a blessing,” she says softly when I ask about working here. “I like being treated like a human being. I wake up every morning and want to be at work. Every day there’s something new to learn.”
As I fumble with my camera and mumble about not being the best photographer, she looks at me and says firmly, “You are good,” reminding me to believe in myself.
Nearby, Isabella focuses on her frying pan as she sautés the makings of a breakfast burrito. Her job is to plate and work the hot line. “I make it all look pretty,” she says with a smile. She benefited from culinary training while in high school, but credits Hugs with taking her skills to a new level.
Mike, a volunteer, stands beside her, ready to help when needed. “I knew about Hugs from my mom who volunteered in McKinney,” he says. He worked with special needs kids in high school and now, with a day job in commercial real estate, he has decided to spend some of his off-hours giving back. I chat with Fabien and George as they clear and wash dishes; Katie, as she greets customers; and Meshia, who poses behind the register. When I trail Matthew as he delivers food to a guest, he gives me suggestions on things to photograph. General manager Monique Roberts rounds up food for our photo shoot, while Julia McKnire, the production manager, tells me about how she and Amber recently spent a chilly day participating in the polar plunge that benefits the Special Olympics.
“We are a diversely talented group,” says Lauren. “Individuals might have disabilities or learning differences, but that’s not stressed here. It’s just everyone hanging together as a team.” In this family-like atmosphere, turnover is low. Twenty-two Hugs employees who have been with the organization since its beginning were in attendance at Hugs’ 10th anniversary celebration.
Recognizing the need for inclusive hiring beyond Hugs’ establishments, the organization opened its training academy in 2022. “We wanted to give more IDD adults the skills to find jobs elsewhere,” says Lauren.
A 12-week culinary training program prepares individuals to get their food handlers certificate and build foundational skills for entering the work force. Hugs currently licenses their training academy in five other states.
That mission will receive a boost in July when the organization moves into its new 13,500-square-foot McKinney administrative headquarters, with state-of-the-art classrooms, offices and a fresh location for their original cafe.
“At Hugs, we encourage our team to wish things for themselves that they’d only thought possible for others,” says Lauren. “We exist first and foremost to empower people.”
The blessing is a two-way street. Lauren began as a Hugs volunteer nine years ago after meeting a friend for lunch there and having an aha moment. “I recognized that everyone working at Hugs was enjoying their job more than I was enjoying mine. Knowing these folks has made my life so much better,” she says. “There’s synergy in a space where people are given opportunities to thrive. Come for a cup of coffee, and you’ll see.”
HUGS CAFÉ
Menus for both locations are online; catering also is available.
Dallas
2918 Live Oak St.
469-301-6900
McKinney
224 E. Virginia St.
469-301-6900
hugscafe.org
Facebook facebook.com/HugsCafe
Instagram @hugscafe
As a kid, TERRI TAYLOR refused to eat her vegetables. Her veggie-phobia was cured in 1977 when she spent eight months working on farms in Norway and France. She studied journalism at UT-Austin and received a master’s degree in liberal arts from SMU. Her short story “Virginia” can be found in Solamente en San Miguel, an anthology celebrating the magical Mexican town of San Miguel de Allende. She has written for Edible DFW since its inaugural issue in 2009. She became the magazine’s editor in 2010 and is the editor of Edible Dallas & Fort Worth: The Cookbook.