On a Wednesday afternoon, Joey Matchen and Dianne Chazen worked the cash register and espresso machine at The Infinite Bean Cafe. As the two employees made latte art and sorted baked goods, there didn’t appear to be anything remarkable going on. But Matchen and Chazen, who are both neurodiverse, face significantly higher rates of unemployment compared to the rest of the population. The Infinite Bean, whose staff is made up of neurodiverse employees, offers people like Matchen and Chazen work — in a time when the odds are not in their favour when it comes to securing employment. 

Opened in April, The Infinite Bean is located on the main floor of the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre, in downtown Toronto. Although The Infinite Bean itself is not a Jewish organization, the cafe has embedded itself within the Jewish community. The cafe’s sister location, Holy Grounds, can be found inside of Holy Blossom Synagogue, while the organization’s catering operations and kitchen run out of Congregation Darchei Noam. All three locations — which employ a total of 35 people — are overseen by parent company, Rafiken Social Enterprises. The Infinite Bean will soon launch a challah subscription service, offering subscribers the opportunity pick up their weekly challahs from inside the cafe.

Joey Matchen serves up coffee at The Infinite Bean, a cafe inside Toronto’s Mile Nadal JCC. (Credit: Emma Paidra)

Bethanie Roy, director of The Infinite Bean and Holy Grounds, says the cafes can help reduce unemployment rates amongst neurodiverse people. “We want to address that [employment] gap,” she says. “What we wanted to do was create these jobs, but also try to show that it is possible for other enterprises to employ this population.” 

Roy said that currently there aren’t enough programs helping neurodiverse people to find work. 

“In Canada, there are a lot of training opportunities, but not a lot of follow through,” she says. By contrast, The Infinite Bean provides assistance to its employees from the training stage and throughout employment. “We have support integrated, and that’s how we build our business,” she said. The employees “will need a transitional period with support, just like anybody else.” 

Another goal of The Infinite Bean’s is to foster interaction with the neurodiverse community. “We wanted to be public-facing,” she says. “We want to show that we’re all just human beings, and we’re doing our best to go through this life.” Roy says that the cafe’s location within the JCC has been a good fit, with the Jewish community reacting well to the new addition. “The community is really supportive.”

Matchen, 26, remembers being nervous about interacting with the public when they first started working at Holy Grounds four years ago. “I wanted to be in the kitchen instead of with the customers,” they recall. Now, working at The Infinite Bean and Holy Grounds, Matchen — who is Jewish — is constantly speaking with customers, and is working on perfecting their latte art. Working in a supportive environment has been helpful, as they sometimes get overwhelmed and need to know they can take a moment.

Chazen, 35, also feels that she has grown in her time at The Infinite Bean. “It’s giving me more experience,” she says. “I just never thought that I could be a barista. But now that I am, it feels great.” Though Chazen has past work experience — and currently balances a second part-time job at another cafe — she says that she is trusted with more responsibility at The Infinite Bean. 

When Chazen started working at The Infinite Bean, the cafe consisted of a rolling cart in the JCC’s gallery room, offering drip coffee and pre-made baked goods. Today, the cafe has its own designated space, complete with a seating area, a countertop oven for baking cookies in-house, and a small display of artwork made by employees. “We’ve really come a long way,” she says. 

Michelle Vella, director of operations, says since joining The Infinite Bean in June 2025, she has learned a lot about working with the neurodiverse community. “They’re the best employees because they’re so thrilled to be able to come to work,” she says. “Often, you don’t necessarily get that in the everyday working world.”

Vella, whose background is in hospitality, says that other businesses could learn from The Infinite Bean’s model. “This is what we should be doing more of in general for everybody: considering people’s needs so that they can produce and work better. Giving people the tools so they can get the job done.”

Roy said that her employees enjoy the work they do and find value in the human interaction it brings them. “They really want to connect. They just don’t always connect in the same way as we all do.” Perhaps more than anything, Roy wants Torontonians to know that staffers like Matchen and Chazen just want the chance to be employed. “They want to contribute,” she says. “If you ask them what they want, they want to work.”