Loudon County coffee shop offeri

LENOIR CITY, Tenn. (WVLT) - Resting on the Knox and Loudon County line is a coffee shop that serves more than just coffee.

“We use the coffee shop to do their hands-on vocational training, so they’re learning customer service skills, money math, how to multi-task,” said Founder Engela Lee.

Lee is talking about the students, many of them with disabilities who train in the coffee shop and learn valuable skills in the classroom, all thanks to the coffee shop along US-70 outside Lenoir City.

“Unfortunately they blindsided us when they decided to faze out the funding,” added Lee in another breath.

The funding Lee is referring to is funding from the federal government that made the operation run.

$145,000, roughly, that helps pay for the program, and the teacher who some say is the best special education teacher they had ever seen.

“Without that funding there’s no way we can fund the teachers that are full time here,” said Board President Dylon Hibbard.

Hibbard, like nearly everyone who is a part of the operation, was surprised by the federal government’s move.

The loss of funding comes as Riverside is told they no longer qualify for it, the process in which they work wasn’t good enough for the federal government.

“Like I said, I’m a man of faith and I’m most optimistic in my God and I know we’re going to find the funding,” said Hibbard.

Right now they think they have six months to a year until the money completely runs out.

“They could shut us off any day or they could allow them to complete the full two-year program,” said Lee. “We’re in a limbo at this point, we are of course, hoping that any of our current students or all of our current students will be funded until the end of their current program.”

In the meantime they’ve painted a wall inside to support sponsors from the local community buying ad space on the wall, believing that revenue source will allow the work done inside the coffee shop to continue.

“Step up, we need some corporate sponsors,” pleaded Lee.