SimplyBe Coffee officially cut the ribbon Thursday on a new kiosk inside the Giant Food store in Purcellville, dropping a mission-driven coffee counter into one of the town’s busiest shopping strips. The morning ceremony pulled in town and county officials, business leaders and Loudoun County Sheriff Mike Chapman as the nonprofit marked fresh on-the-job training and paid positions for adults with disabilities. The opening gives the Tree of Life Ministries enterprise its second Loudoun location and its first SimplyBe spot inside a supermarket.
Officials, Photos and a Check on Opening Day
Photos shared by the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office showed associates, volunteers and elected officials lining up for group shots and the ceremonial oversized scissors, and Purcellville News reported that Mayor Christopher Bertaut and Loudoun County Board Chair Phyllis Randall were among the speakers. The local outlet noted that Giant Food marked the occasion with a $1,000 donation to Tree of Life Ministries. Speakers cast the new kiosk as both a local small-business addition and a community-minded program that creates visible employment opportunities for adults who have aged out of school-based services.
Nonprofit Coffee Built Around Jobs and Training
SimplyBe is operated by Purcellville-based Tree of Life Ministries as a workforce program that places associates in real, customer-facing roles. Tree of Life’s annual report explains that its Gospel Enterprises are structured to provide training and work experience to people with disabilities and notes that the organization has been expanding placements and internships. Organizers said the new Giant kiosk will give associates a chance to build skills while serving shoppers in a high-traffic environment.
Town Turned Early Access Into Community Outreach
Before the official ribbon cutting, the Town of Purcellville hosted a Coffee with a Cop event at the kiosk as a “sneak peek,” the town’s news release said, offering free cups and pastries to residents and inviting conversation with area officers. The release described the site as the SimplyBe kiosk inside Giant Food at 1000 East Main Street and noted that the grand opening would follow the community preview. Officials also encouraged shoppers to keep in mind that purchases at the counter help support the cafe’s mission of inclusion and training.
A Visible Step Toward More Opportunities
“It’s not just serving coffee, it’s serving a purpose,” Mayor Bertaut told Purcellville News, capturing the theme repeated by county leaders at the ceremony. For local residents, the new SimplyBe location stands as a close-to-home example of how nonprofits and businesses can partner to create paid work, training and community connections for adults with different abilities.
