Grace Coffee and Cafe to replace Zoi's Gyros

Every ending gives rise to something new.

Zoi’s Gyros at 1865 Broadway has closed, but the facility will soon become a café, thanks to grant funding.

Monday afternoon, the men and women of Graceful Opportunities, a local not-for-profit, assembled at the closed drive-in to evaluate what would become Grace Coffee and Café.

Brother and sister Samuel Duer and Susan Stone, who run Graceful Opportunities, were awarded a $350,000 grant by the SB40 Board. The SB40 Board, named after Missouri Senate Bill 40, is a county board which oversees services for those with developmental disabilities.

Grace Coffee and Café will serve customers with coffee and snacks even as it serves the disabled community with gainful employment.

Brother and sister Samuel Duer and Susan Stone, who run Graceful Opportunities, were awarded a $350,000 grant intended to create employment for those with disabilities. Grace Coffee and Cafe fits the bill.Michael Leifer

“It will be a beautiful cafe,” Stone said. “We believe every individual has value and worth. This is an opportunity for them to find competitive employment. It’s going to be a lot of work but I’m excited.”

Inside Zoi’s, cramped tables were covered in seven different lucky bamboo plants, an assortment of plastic flowers, including a plastic grape vine, complete with plastic grapes. There was a conversation among the volunteers about summoning an electrician. Immediately, a discussion emerged about updating the electrical system and allowing for a wall to be sledgehammered away.

Duer, a licensed social worker, has been involved in social services for about 25 years. As a young man in college, he worked with individuals with disabilities where Duer “just grew to love that population, as people.” Helping those with disabilities find work was a vision Duer and Stone shared prior to the start of their business in 2012.

“This was our vision for a long time. We just didn’t realize how many people in Cape Girardeau shared the same vision. It’s been exciting to see this big group effort come together. Today isn’t about our company, it’s about serving the citizens of Cape Girardeau.”

Duer did not have any expectations when he requested the grant. He recalled praying, “‘Lord, whatever your will is.’”

Volunteers for Graceful Opportunities enter the building for the first time.Michael Leifer

“I had zero expectations. We almost passed out when they awarded us the grant,” Duer said, insisting the project was bigger than himself and even bigger than the company he and his sister represent. “We’re just at the tip of the spear. We just walked in at the right moment. So many people worked hard to make this happen.”