Coffee Uniting People

Creating Inclusive Opportunities

Our Story

Why We're Here

How And Why CUP Started

Founders Laura and Greg Jones have spent much of their lives making the world a better place in many ways. Their efforts to include individuals with disabilities began in 2010, when two of their sons were immersed in neighborhood Little League. Around this time they found out a family friend had to drive to another city for her son to play baseball. He needed an accessible program, but no such option existed in Tampa. In response, Greg and Laura started something new in our city: Challenger Baseball, a program that welcomes and accommodates children with disabilities. Greg coached the team, and Laura was heavily involved in all aspects of practices and games. Through Challenger, the Joneses got to know great kids of all abilities and their families. They, and everyone else involved, discovered that inclusion is better for ALL people, not just for those with disabilities.

Fast forward to 2021. The youngsters with disabilities that Greg and Laura had come to know and love through Challenger had grown up. With few job prospects, many were experiencing the isolation that can set in after age 22, when adults with disabilities age out of programs and services they relied on in their youth. The pandemic, of course, had made the situation even worse. The Joneses thought of opening a non-profit coffee shop staffed by people with and without disabilities working together - a coffee shop that would not only provide much needed employment opportunities, but also ease social isolation, build community and show the world that inclusion is best for all. They thought of CUP: Coffee Uniting People. They gathered a team, rolled up their sleeves and went to work to make CUP a reality.

An Expanded Impact

Scaling our Growth for More Impact Across Tampa Bay

What started with a small coffee shop in the Embarc Collective building that opened in March of 2023 in downtown Tampa, has now evolved into 4 amazing stores with more to come! Our flagship location at 3408 Dale Mabry Highway enjoyed its ribbon cutting August of 2023. Through a partnership with BayCare Health Systems, we opened our third location in August of 2024 at St. Joseph’s Hospital-North in Lutz and our newest location at St. Joseph's Hospital-South in Riverview opened in June of 2025!

We currently employ more than 40 individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in inclusive workplaces and have an incredible management team led by General Manager Stephanie Williams.

Fall of 2025 will mark a huge opportunity for all of us as we launch an exclusive CUP COFFEE CLUB where we can reach beyond our walls and deliver coffee directly to people all over North America! This initiative will create even more opportunities to hire more employees fostering more goodwill in this amazing CUP community!

Stay tuned for a CUP on your corner!

Are You Looking to Get Involved?

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Founders

Greg and Laura Jones

Meet the leaders behind Coffee Uniting People, whose mission is to provide employment opportunities for people of ALL ABILITIES throughout Tampa Bay and beyond!

Get in Touch

111-111-1111

Get in Touch

111-111-1111
coffee@coffeeunitingpeople.org