Restaurant brings new hope

A father dedicates his time to helping those with disabilities find jobs and gain confidence

By Dena Reynolds

The most frustrating part of Rebecca Voskeritchian's workday is getting a ride to her job.

She depends on van rides and when the van is late then she calls a taxi to get to work on time as a host at Positive Vibe Cafe.

Once at work Voskeritchian's day is much easier. She greets customers from her wheelchair behind the low welcome desk at the café in the Stratford Hills Shopping Center in Richmond.

Positive Vibe Café originally opened in 2003 as a job-training program to help those with physical and cognitive disabilities. After the success of the training program, a restaurant opened at the facility in 2005. Of the 25 employees at the restaurant, 17 have a disability.

The training program and restaurant work hand and hand as the profits from the restaurant fund the café’s job training program, which has graduated more than 260 students.

“I was drawn to what they’re trying to accomplish here, and I’ve started to feel at home here,” said Voskeritchian, who was born with spina bifida and used crutches and braces as a child.
Garth Larcen owns and manages the cafe.

“Some may call it reverse discrimination, but I only hire hosts who are in wheelchairs,” said Larcen, who originally employed Voskeritchian to help out in the kitchen.

Voskeritchian said, “I can’t just go get some of the manual labor jobs that people could get. It would have to be something that’s accessible and then you do have people’s discriminations. Even though we don’t want to believe it’s possible I have run across that.”

Helping others
Carolyn Carper has volunteered at the cafe for two years.

“Here you see a person as a person and forget about their disability,” she said. “I just love it here.”

Carper is one of the many waitresses and bartenders who volunteer at the café, working only for tips. They say it is not about a paycheck, but about helping individuals with disabilities succeed and be a part of the community.

Garth Larcen started Positive Vibe Café as a way to create a job for his son Max, who suffers form muscular dystrophy and uses a wheelchair. Despite earning a college degree, Max had a difficult time finding a job.

“It was taking a toll on him. He was throwing in the towel,” said Larcen.

The cafe not only created a place for Max to succeed as a working professional, but an outlet for him to gain confidence again.

“We believe in what they do,” said Larcen about his son and the disabled individuals he works with on a daily basis. “It gives them a sense of purpose.”

Skills of a lifetime
All the proceeds from the restaurant allow disabled students from area high schools and disabled adults in the community to attend a four-week job-training program at the cafe for free. They learn about cooking, cleaning and customer service.

“It is phenomenal what happens in just four short weeks. They learn that there is a world out there to help them,” said Larcen.

The restaurant staff works closely with the students and Carper enjoys helping to train the students while she waitresses.

“They are really shy at the beginning and then they just blossom. They gain so much confidence and personality,” said Carper, who assists with lunch internships for the students.

Cooking 101
During a recent training class, students from Henrico and Chesterfield County Schools learned how to fix a ham and cheese quiche from a local chef.

Travis Milton, Executive Chef at Bottega Bistro spent two hours assisting students through the steps of making the crust, cutting the ham and cracking the eggs for the quiche.

“What do you think?” said Milton after the students were handed plates of quiche at the end of class.

Kalvin Branch, 19, of Henrico High School, participated in the morning training class on cooking and grabbed a plate of quiche before his lunch internship shift began.

After tasting the baked quiche, Branch responded to Chef Milton.

“Need hot sauce,” Branch said.

The room broke out in laughter as someone handed him some hot sauce. After a second bite of the quiche with hot sauce Branch revised his review.

Branch said, “It’s da’ bomb.”

Kim Gissentanna, 19, giggled as Branch poured on even more hot sauce. She helped make the quiche with Branch and the other students. She attends Monacan High School and hopes to work with the elderly one day.

Gissentanna recently finished her internships in the restaurant as part of the training program.
“I like to help bus tables. I ask if they want any more to drink. Take their plates for them. Clean their tables, their chairs and the floors,” said Gissentanna.

Chef Milton looks forward to teaching the students the skills to prepare them for a job.

“Coming to teach here is probably one of the best things about being a chef," said Milton. This is an opportunity to help kids do something I love. Seeing them enjoy it is very cool.

Chefs from area restaurants teach recipes, such as baking cookies and preparing salads; as well as knife skills, safety and sanitation. The students are also taught interviewing skills and resume writing near the end of the program.

Gaining confidence
Tracie Goins is a Chesterfield County teacher who brings her students to the training program and tracks their progress.

“This gives them an opportunity,” said Goins. “And, it is all graded. They have a final exam where they make a milkshake using fresh fruit at a weighing station.

Stephanie Lau plans the final exam, the recipes and the class curriculum as the program's trainer.

“We teach them the basic skills in cleaning and cooking that they can use most anywhere,” said Lau. “Some students really excel with the hands-on training.”

She started working at the café’s training program eight months ago.

Lau said, “It’s very satisfying to be part of the community. This raises awareness for everyone."

Success stories
Many students have graduated from the Positive Vibe Café’s job-training program and gone on to land their first job.

“One of my students from the summer now works at Einstein Bros. Bagels. I love that,” said trainer Lau.

Owner Garth Larcen loves to tell stories about his employees and all the students his program has helped, but one story is his favorite.

“I did this for Max. He has opened up, learned to socially interact with people and has grown into himself," said Larcen about his son. "He helps manage as well as host and I know if I have to leave in the evening that it’s in good hands with Max," he said.

“If he hadn’t had his son then this place would never have happened,” said Goins, who continually sees her Chesterfield County High School students graduate from the program and gain the confidence to look for a job.

Larcen added about his son, “Max has a serious illness and it’s kind of amazing that he’s still here. Many with duchenne muscular dystrophy don’t make it past their mid-twenties. He turns 31 in about a week."