One of the most underrated spots in Nebraska is a coffee shop in south-central Lincoln called Rose Cat Coffee Company and Reading Society. This little shop has something that can’t be found anywhere else.
“I wanted to work here because I like to see my friends here who make me smile and make me feel special,” said Elissa Fuelbirth, a Rose Cat employee. “My favorite part is seeing the customers’ smiling faces and making coffee.”
A coffee shop was not originally a part of the plan. Brenda Kasaty experienced life in a way that so many of us do: plans adjusting, people changing and paths moving around. Her career did not begin in the service industry until a few years ago, and the end goal was never to own a business.
Kasaty was born and raised in California. By 2010, Kasaty had completed her undergraduate program in Psychology from the University of Concordia-Irvine and her master’s in Social Work from California State University, Long Beach. She found her calling in a profession that helps people enhance their overall well-being.
As her college career ended, Kasaty took on an internship with a company that introduced her to therapeutic services and special education. That internship led her to becoming a licensed social worker in the state of California and Kasaty began her post-grad career.
After graduation, Kasaty spent a few years working for an insurance company doing utilization review for mental health.
As the workload intensified, Kasaty’s interest began to fade in what was once her dream field, and she began looking for new opportunities with an open mind.
Amid a minor career crisis and a growing family, Kasaty and her husband decided to leave California and move to Minnesota in 2016.
Kasaty landed in the high school system as a paraprofessional and loved every second of her time there. Although the pay felt insufficient, she knew the work that she was doing was important.
Kasaty hadn’t spent much time with the Intellectual and Developmental Disability community before this job. Her relationships with these students grew and she sympathized with them, knowing many wouldn’t have career opportunities outside the social walls that had been placed around them.
When the Kasaty family moved again in 2020, the pandemic altered their ability to find community and connection in the new space of Lincoln, Nebraska. Brenda spent the next few years raising her children and guiding them through homeschooling, with the spark of education and childcare still in the back of her mind.
In their homeschool group, Kasaty’s oldest daughter bonded with a girl named Ellia, who had been diagnosed with a degenerative muscular disorder. However, that didn’t hold her back from being her sweet, sassy and spunky self.
When Ellia would play, she transformed into an imaginary character named Rose Cat: a girl with cat ears and a cape who was capable of anything she dreamed of doing.
Ellia passed away in October of 2022 at the age of thirteen. Ellia’s dad made a picture that read, “Rose Cat’s Reading Society” and his wife sent the picture to Kasaty.
She read those words and knew that the idea that she had put on the back burner for so long finally had a purpose and a name.
Motion began on this project in 2023 when Kasaty decided that a coffee shop would be the best way to provide work for the IDD community in her area.
“Coffee is comfortable,” Kasaty said. “We know people like it and we didn’t want to reinvent things that people already do. We just want to change how it’s done and the impact it makes on people.”
March 2024 was when Rose Cat was finally available to the public, with an enormous line out the door. Perhaps one of Rose Cat Coffee Co.’s biggest successes is the fact that within a year of business, all of the original staff still works there. All 13 staff members who were present on opening day still remain with the team.
Many customers can feel the love and community that holds the shop together the second they walk through the door. The white walls, the neon light sign and the plants scattered throughout the shop only enhance the beautiful corner dedicated to the “Reading Society” name. The in-house library adds a sense of peace and tranquility to the shop – customers are encouraged to take and leave a book as they go.
“Not including a drive-thru might have been a missed opportunity, but I wanted everyone to slow down in this crazy life,” Kasaty said.
The customers of Rose Cat Coffee Co. have done just that. Rose Cat is a place for gathering.
Between knitting groups, bible studies, book clubs and business meetings, the store has created a community of its own.
“The kind of customer we want is someone who wants to be involved in what we are doing,” Kasaty said. “What Rose Cat is doing is proving to the community why inclusion and kindness matter everywhere you go.”
That community carries between the customers and all the way through to the staff. While talking with Kasaty, one can’t help but notice the tremendous amount of love and pride she feels for each team member – including a man named Chad.
“Chad had just turned thirty and never had worked before,” Kasaty said. “Although Chad has Down Syndrome and can be very difficult to understand, nothing can stop his love of talking and smiling.”
Kasaty continued with how during training, each employee was given a list of questions they needed to practice asking each customer.
“With an ear-to-ear smile, Chad delivered his question with as much clarity as anyone had heard from him. I couldn’t help but feel so proud of him.” Kasaty said.
A simple story about a man who overcame.
“I think what we are doing just hits different,” Kasaty said. “If you want a fast cup of coffee, maybe we’re not what you’re looking for. But if you want to leave with a smile, be better and feel better, we are exactly what you’re looking for.”
Rose Cat opens a whole new window of opportunity. Kasaty mentions how difficult it can be to start a small business and get something off the ground. With over 30 people on the waiting list, the demand for inclusivity in the workplace is urgent. Kasaty has dreams of opening another store front, if financing allows it.
With only a year of business under their belt, Rose Cat and the work it is doing for the community in Lincoln has not gone unnoticed. Rose Cat continues to win numerous grants and awards. Most importantly, this little coffee shop is doing exactly what it was intended to do.
“We want to inspire a world where employment opportunities for those with IDD are abundant, where inclusion is a standard and where every person’s potential is seen and valued,” Kasaty said. “It is more than just a cup of coffee. You’re getting to know people that you really otherwise wouldn’t get to know.”
Rose Cat might sell coffee and beverages, but their most valuable item is the smile that comes with it.
“I love that people here have disabilities and we get to be kind to the people around us,” said Rachel Moon, an employee at Rose Cat.
Those smiles and kindness is what makes Rose Cat Coffee Company & Reading Society the business it is: a place where you can come for a drink or a book, but you leave with something worth so much more.
“We hope you find joy in getting to interact with our staff in all of their glory,” Kasaty said. “We sell coffee, not gold, but you will leave with a smile.”
