Cookies, Coffee and Compassion Served at New Lincoln Avenue Café

Potato chip cookies have been a secret baked in the kitchen of a Lincoln Square nonprofit for many years, but now, the rest of the neighborhood can get a taste.

On Monday, Gateway to Learning—a private day training program for adults with disabilities—opened its first member-run café. 

Dorothy’s Can-Do Café will have cookies, chocolates and other baked goods. Workers will also be serving Aspire CoffeeWorks, a nonprofit partner of Metropolis Coffee that benefits people with disabilities. 

The cookies—particularly the potato chip cookies—are the best, according to 37-year-old Vivi. Vivi has already been selected for the program and said she was excited about sharing the bakery’s goods with everyone. 

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A grand opening celebration Monday brought community members, Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago), and Alds. Ameya Pawar (47th) and Patrick O’Connor (40th) to the center for a ribbon cutting.

“We went through most of the cookies pretty quickly,” Development Specialist Kathleen Wilson said. “It went well and everyone really enjoyed the cookies and chocolate covered pretzels.”

The café is named after Gateway to Learning founder Dorothy Hough. She began the center more than 35 years ago after having two children with disabilities. Hough was frustrated with regular classrooms and started her own curriculum based around skills learned in the food service industry. In 2005, Hough died after creating a lasting program for people with disabilities. 

“We hope it puts a little bit of her back into here and reminds everybody of where we came from,” Wilson said. “There are so many different aspects of food service that help with member development like self confidence.”  

Dorothy’s Can-Do Café is open every weekday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 4925 N. Lincoln Ave. 

In the future, Wilson hopes the café can expand to serve the same sandwiches and soups to customers.