• Café EXTRA Ordinaire is a new Stouffville café and community space that combines a coffee shop with a life skills and inclusion program for adults with neurodevelopmental and cognitive disabilities.
  • The program helps participants build confidence, independence, social skills, and employment skills through hands-on experience in a real café environment.
  • Co-founder Rita Aprile says the goal is to focus on participants’ strengths, abilities, interests, and dreams while creating a place where they feel they belong in the community.
  • In addition to café operations, the organization plans to host movie nights, paint nights, dance classes, karaoke, social gatherings, and holiday events to encourage friendships and community connections.
  • Café EXTRA Ordinaire is located at 117 Ringwood Dr., Unit 3, in Stouffville.
  • Its grand opening is set for Sept. 26 at noon, and regular hours will be Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

 

A new café in Stouffville is serving up more than coffee.

Café EXTRA Ordinaire is a community-focused space that combines a café with a life skills and inclusion program for adults aged 18 and older with neurodevelopmental and cognitive disabilities. The initiative aims to help participants build confidence, independence, social connections, and employment skills in a welcoming, real-world environment.

“We want to create a place where adults with disabilities have an opportunity to learn and grow, participate, and feel like they’re truly belonging in the community,” said co-founder Rita Aprile. “We wanted to focus on people’s strengths, their abilities, interests, and dreams rather than focusing on their limitations.”

The café is integrated with the organization’s existing day program, allowing participants to gain hands-on experience serving customers, handling food, building communication skills, and learning the responsibilities that come with a workplace setting.

But Aprile says the vision extends beyond employment training.

“We wanted to create a space where people could come together outside of the traditional day program environment,” she said. “It’s a place where people can make friends, socialize, and have fun.”

In addition to the café, organizers plan to host movie nights, dance classes, paint nights, karaoke, social gatherings, and holiday events designed to bring people together and strengthen community connections.

The program primarily serves adults from York Region who have aged out of the school system and are looking for meaningful opportunities to continue learning and developing skills. Aprile says that transition can be a difficult one for many families.

“After 21, where do they go? What do they do?” she said. “We want to teach life skills they can use for the rest of their lives, whether that’s cooking, cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, making friends, or finding employment.”

Participants can also receive workplace-related training and certifications, including food handling and CPR, while the organization works to create employment opportunities with local businesses in Stouffville and Markham.

“I want them to be the best that they can possibly be,” she said. “We want to get them as independent as possible and help them become world-ready while building on their strengths.”

Café EXTRA Ordinaire officially celebrates its grand opening Sept. 26 at noon. Located at 117 Ringwood Dr., Unit 3, in Stouffville, organizers hope the space will not only provide opportunities for its participants but also encourage the broader community to embrace inclusion. The café will operate Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“We want to open up our café, open up our hearts, and open up the hearts of the community,” Aprile said. “Because we’re all different in different ways, and we all belong.”