“She got two delights, Cal!” Natasha Kilgore yelled. Her voice carried over the steady drone of voices and the clattering of dishes, enough that everyone in the relatively small space knew exactly who was talking.
“I know!” Calleigh Allen answered, as she had already moved on to the next customer.
Sprinkles of Hope, a nonprofit bakery and deli that employs individuals with disabilities, is tucked into a former jewelry and grocery store on East Second Street. Residents fill the space for their morning usual, daily special or unique pastry like a banana taco. But the draw is not just the transparent tarts or chili — it’s the people.
Two staff members are the backbone of the business. Calleigh, the cashier, and Samantha “Sam” Major, the food runner and cupcake decorator, greet everyone with a smile. Their positive demeanor can make it difficult to believe they weren’t always so confident.
“Without this place, I could hardly do nothing,” Sam, 33, said. “It gave me the chance to see what I can do.”
Sam has not been diagnosed with a specific disability, but told she “has a little of everything.” Prior to Sprinkles, she was not able to read and had few social skills. According to Heather Cooper, the manager, Sam was able to realize her full potential and come out of her shell. She developed manners and an outgoing personality, even starting her own business, Major Sparkles, where she sells jewelry, printed shirts and cups. Sam even met her fiancé at Sprinkles.
“The world never gave her a chance,” Heather said. “She wasn’t able to prove herself because she didn’t even know her potential.”
Calleigh, 29, has cerebral palsy and takes the orders from her wheelchair behind the counter.
“No one would give me a job,” she said. “Now people view me as someone who can do things.”
Calleigh answers the store phone while simultaneously taking orders from an ever-growing line and shouting extra instructions to the cooks. She knows customers’ names and their orders and is never fazed by the two-hour, non-stop lunch rush.
“Before, she was afraid to speak to people,” Heather said. “She wouldn’t look you in the eye. Now, I can hear her when I’m busy baking in the back.”
Sprinkles was founded by Meagan Brannon in 2016 so she could give her autistic son a chance in the work force. The space offers opportunity to others fighting society’s constraints.
“Everyone is as sweet as can be in here,” Deron Feldhaus, an almost daily customer, said. “They are always happy, which makes me happy.”
The steady stream of regular customers also adds to the bakery’s charm.
“We see the same people every day,” said Natasha, the assistant manager. “There are groups that have come in every morning for their coffee or lunch for the past six years.”
But it still all comes down to the staff.
“When I talk about this place to people, I don’t talk about me,” Natasha said. “It’s not about me. It’s about my kids. This place needs to be around because it’s their hope.”
