Stephanie Goodrich spent nearly a decade teaching special education in Omaha Public Schools before she opened a restaurant built around the same population she once taught. At The Brunch Box in downtown Omaha, Goodrich says about 40% of the staff had a disability when the restaurant’s employment partnership began, a workforce that includes people with ADHD and Down syndrome.
Goodrich said she left teaching, started a consulting company to help businesses, and kept noticing the same gap in employment support for people with disabilities, which eventually pushed her toward opening her own restaurant, according to KETV. That gap became the foundation for The Brunch Box, which she says partners with local organizations to give people with disabilities a stable workplace and real work experience.
Building a Team Around Strengths, Not Limitations
Rather than focusing on what employees can’t do, Goodrich said the restaurant identifies each person’s strengths and support needs, then builds a team environment designed to support everyone. The station reported that Goodrich emphasized focusing on individuals’ strengths and identifying needed supports rather than limitations, a philosophy that shapes how shifts and roles get structured at the restaurant.
That approach echoes a broader model already in place in Omaha. Project Search, a separate program, offers adults with disabilities hands-on training and internships, giving them the opportunity and support until they are ready to find a job on their own, per KETV’s earlier reporting. The same report described the program as functioning much like the internships college students take on their way into a career.
From Downtown Storefront to a Second Location in the Works
The Brunch Box operates out of 225 North 12th Street in downtown Omaha’s Capitol District, according to Grow Omaha, serving a menu that includes traditional, vegan, and gluten-free entrees. In April 2025, Grow Omaha reported the restaurant had plans to open a second location in the Oak View Mall Food Court, though it’s unclear whether that expansion has since opened.
Goodrich’s work has drawn recognition beyond her own kitchen. A Nebraska Department of Education page lists Stephanie Goodrich of Omaha as a recipient of the Champion of Disability Employment Recognition Award, as noted by Nebraska Department of Education, a nod to the same mission she says drives The Brunch Box’s hiring approach. For Goodrich, the restaurant isn’t just a place to eat brunch, it’s the continuation of a career she started in a classroom, now playing out across a dining room floor.
