Love Coffee, Glenn's Cafe throw crawfish boil to showcase 'magic' of nonprofit's mission
Sometimes a meal is just a meal. And sometimes it conveys, in ways words just can't, who you want to be.
Pat McMurry attended his first crawfish boil in early August. The mingling of crawfish and corn, shrimp and sausage, potatoes and onions, spices and more evoked the beautiful textures of New Orleans — "all those cultures, musical traditions, culinary traditions, mixed together in one place," he wrote in an email.
More than this, the meal reminded McMurry of the atmosphere he's helping cultivate as executive director of Love Coffee. With two locations, Love Coffee serves Columbia a wide array of beverages and a full menu of breakfast and lunch options.
The nonprofit also exists to fold Columbians with disabilities and barriers to employment into the workforce. It isn't just a warm, welcoming name — "Love Coffee provides job skills training and employment in an atmosphere of love," its website notes.
More: How Jefferson Middle School students raised nearly $1,000 for Love Coffee
The meal McMurry enjoyed in August was a trial run for Saturday's CoMo Mojo, an event in which Love Coffee will partner with Glenn's Cafe to throw a crawfish boil on Eighth Street. Proceeds will benefit the coffeeshops.
New Orleans-style food, live music and kid-friendly activities will greet attendees. That feeling of coming together and uniting people from different corners of the city, so well-embodied by New Orleans, is familiar to McMurry.
"Well, the mission of Love Coffee is to include folks we might never meet in our daily workplaces and lives," he said. "It’s similar to the magic of meeting someone with a new perspective and different talent. The Love Coffee cafes and business model are envisioned to encourage these interactions. The result is, well, magic."
Making magic
McMurry uses the word "magic" often to describe the Love Coffee experience.
"It is the magic that happens when we stretch out of our comfort zones and meet wonderful new people," he said. "The magic when individuals serve selflessly for the benefit of the whole. The magic when the whole equals more than the sum of its parts."
The Love Coffee team hopes to translate that magic Saturday evening. Held on a blocked-off portion of Eighth Street between Broadway and Cherry, the event will feature "crawfish, Cajun-style vegetables and potatoes, fried pickles and cornbread," according to an event description. A Glenn's Cafe food truck also will be on-hand.
Live music from Josh Runnels and his Soul Sessions outfit, as well as face painting and other family activities round out the evening.
"The hope is that the event will have enough production value and appeal to draw people on its own merit and provide context for learning about the mission of including those with disabilities in the workforce and community," McMurry said.
Opened in 2020, Love Coffee operates at 15 Business Loop 70 E and inside the Tiger Hotel. Created in conjunction with Love Columbia, and gathering other community partners, the nonprofit models a different, more inclusive way of doing business.
More: On a mission, Love Coffee opens new Columbia location inside The Tiger Hotel
"People with disabilities typically face a 75% unemployment rate," Love Coffee founder and board president Chuck Crews said in a news release.
"Love Coffee exists to demonstrate two important ideas — that people with intellectual disabilities have skills and can contribute well to businesses, and two, people with disabilities want to be included in everyday life, and that includes employment."
McMurry appreciates how Love Coffee has affected both individuals and the wider community in its two years of operation. Describing "Columbia’s response to the mission," he named a long list of people who have buoyed the effort, as well as entities such as Glenn's Cafe, the Tiger Hotel and Veterans United Foundation.
He also recounted the story of a Columbia student who recently worked at Love Coffee. They arrived "eager to work and engage but afraid they would not fit in or be accepted," he said.
"The Love Coffee team of 'mission employees' changed that fear for the student," McMurry added. "Not only did this person’s confidence increase, their parents indicated greater responsibility at home, and we received an amazing endorsement of the experience from the student."
McMurry and Co. clearly hope a little food, music and fellowship will convey a similarly big welcome.
"We want to share the magic of the mission with as many people as possible," he said of Saturday's event.
CoMo Mojo takes place from 4 to 9 p.m. Admission is $10 for ages 2-10; $15 for age 11 and older. Tickets can be purchased at the event or online. Learn more at https://www.columbialovecoffee.org/.
Aarik Danielsen is the features and culture editor for the Tribune. Contact him at adanielsen@columbiatribune.com or by calling 573-815-1731. Find him on Twitter @aarikdanielsen.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Crawfish boil to showcase 'magic' of Love Coffee mission Saturday
