The best coffee in East Hampton isn’t served in a white and green cup on Main Street. It’s brewed behind the glass windows of the high school store on Long Lane. Starting at 8 a.m. students line up to buy iced coffees and teas, bagels from Goldberg’s, as well as school merchandise such as sweatshirts, pajama pants, and hats. The store has been open for the last two years and is entirely run by the Life Skills program, which offers education — not just in academic subjects, but also in day-to-day living, interpersonal, and career-oriented skills — for students up to age 22.
“I entered the Life Skills program full time three years ago and I was looking for ways to get the kids more vocational training,” said Danielle Mullen, a special education teacher and the chief cream and sugar officer of Bonac Brew. “We were cooking for ourselves and working with the cafeteria kitchen, and then we opened up a really small school store which is the Clam Shack in the afternoon and it was a hit, so Mrs. Smith [the principal] asked if we wanted to take over the actual school store.”
It may be run by students, but Bonac Brew is no amateur undertaking. It has both front and back-of-house operations and strict protocols for the half-dozen or so students who participate.
“They need to come in, clock in, check their schedules in front of house or in back. They need to use proper food handling protocols, gloves, wash their hands, put their hair up, wear an apron,” Ms. Mullen said. “If they’re in the front then they’re practicing customer service skills. And then there’s the register — which teaches them to utilize a software program as well as work with cash and give proper change. They learn all of these executive functioning skills. They are basically ready to work in a Starbucks.”
The whole process gets started when Jennifer Elflein, the co-adviser of the school store, shows up with warm bagels from Goldberg’s. She delivers them through the back window of room 20, which serves as Bonac Brew’s prep room, and the kids get to work adding butter and cream cheese so the bagels can be bagged and delivered to the store.
“This is our second year,” said Jacob Deleg-Espinoza, 16, while buttering a bagel. “We start doing it during our first period, and we rotate jobs. We sell iced coffee, iced tea, hot coffee, hot tea, and bagels, also water and hot chocolate. I like doing the iced coffees and teas.”
On Thursdays, Bonac Brew partners with the high school’s hospitality program to offer baked goods made by students right in the cafeteria. The hospitality program chooses what to offer each week, most frequently whipping up scones, which are a fan favorite.
“I like our iced coffee and the apple scones,” said Joshua Rodriguez, 17, a Life Skills student, who offered some inside tips while putting cream cheese on bagels.
On the morning The Star visited Bonac Brew, Sean Lester, 18, the vice president of the school store, was carting food and looking very vice presidential in a shirt and tie. His enthusiasm for his job was infectious. “I delivered the bagels. The most popular is everything with cream cheese,” he said. Those bagels are so popular they often sell 100 per day, with students waiting by the window for them to arrive.
Besides providing beverages, breakfast, and vocational training, Bonac Brew also creates meaningful relationships and ensures that the Life Skills students are engaging with the entire student body. “Admin has been so supportive of the store. So now, every single day they’re interacting with students both while the store is open and then later because they just know each other now,” Ms. Mullen said. “Otherwise this program might be very isolated and the students might not have a lot of interaction with the mainstream students in mainstream classrooms. Our school does a really great job of being inclusive.”
Note: The Star bought Bonac Brew’s iced coffee and an East Hampton High School sweatshirt while reporting on this story. The coffee was brewed to perfection and needed no cream or sugar, though a variety of milks and sweeteners was available. The customer service was exceptional and the sweatshirt is soft, warm, and a perfect fit.