What does the future hold for Festive Cup Coffee?

HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. — Three years ago, Amy Lunstra purchased Festive Cup Coffee, a cafe and gift boutique in the corner of a small strip in Highlands Ranch.

Lunstra began hiring employees with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD) less than a year after she took ownership. A former special needs teacher at ThunderRidge High School, Lunstra wanted to create a place in her community where people with IDD could work and contribute to their community.

“Our mission is to break down those barriers, break down those walls, and give people the opportunity to show that they can give back in a work environment, that they have a place in our community,” Lunstra said when Rocky Mountain PBS first profiled Festive Cup.

Now, the coffee shop faces an uncertain future.

Lunstra said she can no longer run the business. If someone does not buy it from her — ideally by the end of the month — then Festive Cup will close, she said.

“I'm not a business person by heart. I am a people person,” Lunstra said. “So I was finding that my cup wasn’t full.”

Then, there’s the business side of things. Lunstra is first to admit her shortcomings.

“Running a business is hard. It’s hard,” she said. “I am not of the business brain in any way, shape or form. I forgot to raise coffee prices for two years. My coffee [supplier] prices have increased like 30% and I haven’t raised the [sale] price. Things like that, if I had more of a business mindset, I wouldn’t miss.”

Though she admits a certain lack of business acumen, Lunstra certainly made an impact with her employees.

Lunstra is quick to credit places like Howdy Homemade Ice Cream in Aurora and Brewability in Englewood for also employing people with disabilities. But while places like Brewability can hire employees with IDD “outright,” Lunstra explained, Festive Cup utilizes waiver serves through Medicaid, which allows the coffee shop to hire, train and pay workers who need additional support.

“Our employees, for lack of a better word, will find it difficult to be completely independent” at another store or restaurant, he said.

Asked if she would sell Festive Cup to someone who did not want to continue hiring and training employees with disabilities, Lunstra said “not if I can help it.”

“I'm not retaining those offers right now,” she added.

Whatever happens for Lunstra and Festive Cup, she is most proud of the impression she made on her neighbors.

“The impact we’ve had on our community, with the inclusivity of individuals with IDD and without,” she said. “It’s become kind of a staple of the area. And just bringing that to Highlands Ranch has been a blessing.”

Kyle Cooke is the digital media manager at Rocky Mountain PBS. You can reach him at kylecooke@rmpbs.org.