If you want to get a bite to eat, chat with some friends, do some work, or support  a good cause, the Good Day Cafe has been a great option since 2018. New customers fill the line on football game weekends, for business lunches, and grabbing take out orders, but it’s the consistent and loyal customers who help define Good Day Cafe (GDC) and its community.

Different people like GDC for different reasons. Kathy McClintic is a customer who started going to GDC for the mission. According to the GDC website, its mission is to “empower individuals and enrich lives through meaningful employment,” which it does through its commitment to employ people with “Autism, intellectual disabilities and mental health diagnoses.”

McClintic also likes going to see how GDC has impacted the staff. “I have witnessed staff become more confident, happier, and more independent! I am so proud of every staff member and love learning each of their stories,” McClintic said. “They are so grateful and happy! I appreciate their smiles and enthusiasm! I love seeing how they help one another and seeing the individual growth.”

Margie Swoboda went to Good Day Cafe for the mission too. “I originally started to go to Good Day because I liked the whole philosophy about the business and I wanted to support it,” Swoboda said. “I truly missed it during the pandemic.”

Swoboda came to GDC for the mission, but she stayed for other reasons. She notices how GDC has a “friendly and clean atmosphere.” In addition, Swoboda thinks “the food and coffee also get five stars!”

Ellen Campbell comes to GDC for the coffee. “I live within walking distance to Good Day Cafe and I started by getting my morning exercise and walking over for a cup of coffee,” Campbell said. “But then my husband wanted a cup each day too so now I drive over and get us both a cup of coffee pretty much every morning. We LOVE the coffee!”

Campbell also likes meeting people at the GDC. “It seems almost every time I stop in, I see someone I know from the community and that is always a nice surprise and good way to start my day.”

The mission, staff, and the community are all great parts of GDC, but the food is a big part of its success too. Customers really enjoy the white-chocolate heated raspberry scones, the baked oatmeal, the bagel breakfast sandwich, the fresh salads, and the chocolate chip cookies.

GDC also brings people together and creates memories. Swoboda took her 99 year old mother to the GDC and ordered her a decaf coffee. “The barista ground the fresh decaf beans and made the most delicious cup of decaf that my mother had ever had,” Swoboda said. She also bought her mom a white chocolate raspberry scone. “To watch my mother eat her scone and drink the coffee with such love made me add a few trips a week to the shop.”

Now Swoboda’s mom loves GDC and goes with all her other children. “Now when my siblings come to visit my mom, she insists that they take her to Good Day,” Swoboda said.

McClintic notes how the staff love and do their jobs well, and communicate well with each other, which makes for a better cafe. “I love seeing how they help one another and seeing the individual growth. I love the food and drink offerings, the bright open space, and their outdoor area,” McClintic said.

GDC relies on devoted customers, and the best way to get more is to recommend it! Campbell recommends it all the time, and helps to spread the word about GDC’s food. “I recommend Good Day Cafe frequently. Anytime a friend wants to meet for breakfast or lunch, I always suggest Good Day Cafe! It is the best,” Campbell said.

The customers help GDC fulfill its mission because they create a community to love and support the GDC.