A new coffee stand at the Burien Farmers Market called Fearless Futures is challenging who gets to belong in the workforce.

Mary Hong opened the booth on Juneteenth, just weeks after graduating from Evergreen Goodwill’s Barista Entrepreneurship training program. But the path to Fearless Futures started in 2021, when she was diagnosed with ADHD. At the time, she was working remotely from Boston for the Gates Foundation. The diagnosis helped her make sense of years of workplace friction. “I’m fairly high functioning,” she says, “but I think I’d been working around things my whole life without knowing why.”

After moving to Seattle later that year, she got involved with disability inclusion efforts through her job’s employee resource group. Still, something was missing. “There wasn’t really a space where people with disabilities could just be themselves,” she says.

That changed during a trip to North Carolina last summer. She stopped for coffee at 321 Coffee, a café and roastery staffed by people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. “I didn’t even know it was that kind of place when I walked in,” she says. “But it was such a great experience. And I remember thinking — why don’t we have something like this in Seattle?” She came home and started looking. When she couldn’t find anything quite like it, she decided to build it.

One in six people worldwide has a disability. People without disabilities are nearly twice as likely to be employed as those with disabilities. Hong wants to help close that gap. “I want Fearless Futures to be a space where people with different abilities can gain experience, try things out, and feel supported,” she says.

By early this year, she had incorporated her business as an LLC and connected with a mentor through SCORE Greater Seattle, a national network that offers free small-business advice and mentorship. A neighbor gave her a professional espresso machine through a Buy Nothing Facebook group. And in March, she discovered Evergreen Goodwill’s barista training program — a free, two-week training course in espresso fundamentals and customer service at the nonprofit’s Seattle Job Training and Education Center.

Evergreen Goodwill barista training program

Photos courtesy of Evergreen Goodwill

She started her stand with a menu of cold brew and iced drinks, including caffeine-free and kid-friendly options. Her first hire may be a recent high school graduate with autism, part of a local job training program. She’s actively recruiting “people of all abilities” and creating an environment where everyone feels included.

“It was important for me to start this as a business, not a nonprofit,” she says. “Because this doesn’t have to be charity. It can be sustainable. It can be profitable. And it can still be about people.”

The farmers market model gives her flexibility and a built-in community. She hopes to open a brick-and-mortar café someday — one with quiet rooms, accessible menus, and features that support independent living. For now, she’s focused on Burien, while exploring other market locations.

Her former instructor Tony Phan, who visited on opening day, continues to mentor her as she fine-tunes the business week by week. She’s still connected with Goodwill, too. “I’ve met other graduates from the barista program,” she says. “It feels like there’s a little community forming.”

She hopes to offer transitional employment — a first job where young people or those with disabilities can acquire skills and confidence, then move on to other opportunities. “If the business is successful,” she says, “I can employ more people. And if they move on to other jobs — even better.”

To learn more or get in touch, email connect@fearlesstogether.org, follow along on Instagram, or leave a note in the virtual guestbook to get updates and join the newsletter.

Fearless Futures is open Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Burien Farmers Market through October.