The Integration Station Restaurant opens for business

I have had the distinct pleasure of having been a board member of People First Industries (PFI) of Bryan County since 1992. Thirty-two years may sound like a long time, but there are three board members who have served even longer than I have.

Once the best kept secret in Bryan County, PFI has in recent years been recognized as the Small Business of the Year by the Durant Area Chamber of Commerce, the Business of the Year by the Durant Lions Club, and the national Main Street organization is about to do a video featuring PFI’s newest venture, The Integration Station Cafe.

PFI was formed in 1978 by a group of like-minded citizens who recognized the need for adults with intellectual and other developmental disabilities to have a safe place to work and an opportunity to become productive members of society, and in some cases even be able to enter the regular workforce. We refer to our workers as supported individuals or employees, and those who supervise them as staff. We believe these individuals, when presented with the right opportunities, have exceptional abilities. PFI currently has 45 supported individuals and 73 staff members.

Most of our work is done inhouse and comes from various state contracts. It’s become quite an operation with three large expansions over the last few years, and a dedicated office complex added to the property in 2023. In addition to the state contracts, we provide commercial laundry services, office cleaning, and other assorted jobs. Some of our clients have been able to work in local restaurants over the years, but we’ve been frustrated by the lack of opportunities, and wanted to do more to allow our supported individuals to interact with the public, something that they dearly love to do, and are only able to do in our workshop when someone comes to visit.

A trip in 2023 to a similar facility in Duncan by our senior staff opened their eyes to new possibilities when they had lunch in their restaurant, The Thinkability Garden Café, and saw how much the employees enjoyed working there and visiting with the diners. Executive Director Shannon Walker and her staff wondered aloud during the trip home if instead of waiting for an opportunity from existing businesses, what if we provided that opportunity by starting our own business?

Office Manager Kendra Iberra suggested a restaurant and knew of a former location that had become available at The Plaza on 3rd and Main Street. Lisa Schuessler, the owner of the property, was excited by the idea and worked with PFI to make it feasible. It helped in that much of it had already been set up for a restaurant.

Aplanwasdrawnuptoshow the board with estimated costs and staffing needs. The board enthusiastically approved it and the process of opening The Integration Station became a reality with a plan to initially just offer lunch from 10-2, as well as seating and meals for special events such as family reunions, office and business lunches or dinners and even lunches for civic club meetings. They serve a lunch special every day, and the menu features a wide variety of comfort food, from burgers to chicken salad, hand crafted soups and salads, plus made from scratch desserts.

It was known amongst the staff that Erica Shelton, who had moved to Oklahoma to be near her mother Helen, a PFI administrative assistant, had restaurant experience in her background. She was brought into the loop and given a tour of the proposed location to get her thoughts. Shelton became extremely excited about the possibilities, and also noticed that a loft apartment above the restaurant had come open for rent.

She felt like God was sending her a message, and she decided the next day to rent it and accepted an offer to become the manager of the restaurant. She brings 38 years of restaurant experience to PFI, having started as a waitress while a teenager, and worked her way up over the years to become the bar and beverage manager at The Public House, an upscale restaurant in Amarillo, Texas, which features comfort food and fine dining, 180 varieties of wine and numerous craft cocktails. While The Integration Station will not serve drinks with alcohol, Shelton does plan to design with help from the employees various custom fruit juices and specialized teas and coffees.

“We plan to get them involved at every level,” Shelton said, “We also want to show their creative talents, and plan to display their artwork, jewelry, and even custom candles, some of which will be available for purchase. Our team in the café consists of our chef Galena Papoi, Andrew Beason and Marcella Garrett. Out front assisting the needs of our supported individuals and diners are Lahoma Vaness and Queen Cook. Everyone works together to support our purpose.”

The café has been decorated with an industrial/train station theme. Staci Walker, PFI’s Marketing Director scoured antique and thrift stores far and wide to find the unique decorations placed throughout the facility. There are even train-based paintings by local artists on display.

Shannon Walker is the Executive Director of PFI and has been slowly steering the business toward integrating the supported individuals with society. Change in any business is always difficult, but it has really opened my eyes seeing our workers outside of the workshop environment. It brings out an enthusiastic side of their personality that I don’t usually see in the structured environment of the workshop, as well as a renewed sense of confidence. Walker says that the restaurant came about largely due to the creative vision of PFI’s office manager, Kendra Iberra, who has been the project manager.

Iberra has been employed by PFI for nine years, and also serves as an ambassador for PFI through her community service in the Kiwanis Club and the Main Street Program.

Iberra said: “It’s been a dream of mine for the last nine years to move our employees into the community and allow them to spread their wings. Now, they have that chance. We are creating mini courses at the workshop so they will be trained and ready when they come to the cafe, but we have several with experience in that field who were ready to go from day one. Some of our employees are not confident enough for on-site training, but by replicating the restaurant in our workshop, we can train them to be proficient before actually going on-site, giving them the confidence to make the change. We sometimes even set up our break room like a restaurant to simulate the job they will be doing at the cafe. Our ultimate goal is to have them ready to go to work for anyone and will encourage them to do so when an opportunity arises.”

Ashley, or as she prefers, A & W, says, “I love working here every day, out in the community where I can talk with people outside of the workshop. I want to show the world that I can do something just like anyone else, and my disability is not a factor.”

Chuck is a long-time employee of PFI. When I asked him what his favorite job was, he didn’t have to think about it for a second, and replied, “I like doing dishes. I also enjoy taking out the trash, meeting new people, and I love the food. I also love seeing our employees come here to eat.”

I have eaten there six times now and enjoyed it every time. I recently took my office manager Lisa Agee with me after she’d had a stressful morning. The pride the employees took in serving us was on full display, with one so eager to help he tried to clear the table before our meal had arrived. As we were walking out afterwards, Agee said, “I don’t see how anyone could be in a bad mood after eating here while surrounded by so many happy people.”

She carried that enthusiasm back into our office for a perfect afternoon.

The last time I had lunch there, one of our employees who is wheelchair bound was headed for the front door. I asked John if he was going back to the workshop, and he proudly replied that he was here to fill the salt and pepper shakers. That’s his job for now and he loves it. At PFI we make sure that everyone gets an opportunity to contribute, no matter how small the task. For them, there are no small tasks.