Positively Mississippi: Downtown Place

BRANDON, Miss. (WLBT) – In the heart of Brandon, Mississippi, sits a beautiful home that now serves its community as a bustling coffee shop.

“I can say from the bottom of my heart that people love this place and it only works because of the support from the district, the community and the students.”

Summer Lewis is a teacher and operator at The Spot Downtown. Not only does The Spot serve as a destination for great drinks and baked goods, but it also serves as a learning center for some of the district’s most special students.

“Our staff are students from the Rankin County School District’s Aspire transition program. They come from all over the area and come here to learn different job skills. They come in and they are all assigned roles. (It’s) an unpaid internship here and they have different roles, (like) customer service, clerk, inventory. Salesperson, my store clerk, those are the skills that we work on with them to turn them into real job skills.”

Mississippi State Ornament created by an Aspire Transition Program student. One of... — Mississippi State Ornament created by an Aspire Transition Program student. Unique gifts can be purchased at the coffee shop’s gift shop.(Keith Honoré | WLBT)

As soon as you enter, you will be greeted by big smiles and excitement as you walk past the gift shop with unique, one-of-a-kind items created by the program’s senior students. Just like at your local restaurant, the students, with the help of their teachers, will take your order and help create some of the best dishes that will delight your taste buds.

“We have homemade cupcakes, lemon tarts. We just added a new apple crumble pie and it gives our students the opportunity to learn some culinary skills that can be applied to other careers.”

The program helps students learn basic foundational skills that can be applied to any job. From hospitality, order taking and service to catering and takeaway service. Students also help the Brandon Garden Club plant their own vegetables, which grow right outside the store, adjacent to its greenhouse.

In collaboration with the Brandon Garden Club, students help plant vegetables in... — In collaboration with the Brandon Garden Club, students help plant vegetables in the coffee shop’s garden.

One student displays a Confederate rose. Last year, students planted a flower... — One student displays a Confederate rose. Last year the students planted a flower and are now seeing the fruits of their labor.(Keith Honoré | WLBT)

While visiting The Spot, we had the opportunity to meet Nick, a customer service clerk who has been with the program for two years.

“Nick is amazing. Of course they all are, but Nick was very quiet when you started. This is his second year. The very first day he arrived here this school year, he got off the bus and there was a group of women standing outside, our clients. We have outdoor seating. He immediately got off the bus and greeted them, which he wouldn’t have done a year earlier, but he walked right up to them and later came up to me and said, “I’m a customer service guy, so these are my customers.” .’ I didn’t need to tell him. He knew what his job was. He knew what his role was and accepted their order. I just more or less stood back and watched him. A year ago I taught him, and now he is more or less teaching new students. So it’s really interesting.”

Nick, the customer service person, gave us a tour of the kitchen.(VLBT)

The Aspire Transition Program has seen great success over the years, with students landing jobs at local businesses such as Jerry’s Fish House in Florence and Bob Hoyte Honda, further increasing the importance of education in the community.

“It’s amazing to see where they start and where they end, and by the time they leave here, they’re just bright, vibrant leaders of our place, and they want to greet people and give them tours and greetings, and that’s what we’re so excited about. Watch them grow in so many ways.”

Brothers Sawyer and Austin have fun before their shift(VLBT)

Spot Downtown is located at 233 Tamberline St. in Brandon. Their opening hours are from 8:00 to 14:00 from Monday to Friday.

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