Thursday, March 21, is World Down Syndrome Day and one Winston-Salem coffee shop that hires employees with intellectual and developmental disabilities is celebrating. Bitty and Beau’s Coffee shop is a chain that has dozens of locations across the United States. It was started in Wilmington, North Carolina, by Amy and Ben Wright who have two children with Down syndrome, Bitty and Beau. They started it after learning that over 80% of people with intellectual disabilities are unemployed. In 2022, they opened up the Winston-Salem location. For World Down Syndrome Day, they hand out yellow flowers to customers — and celebrate. Jamie LaPradd, an employee at Bitty and Beaus' Winston-Salem location who has Down syndrome said she loves working at the shop. "It makes us very happy, it makes us very happy, and all you have to do is put a smile on your face and let it shine," LaPradd said. LaPradd is a caller at the shop, so she calls out drink orders when they're ready.“I always show a smile on my face, and that’s what I do, I make everybody happy," LaPradd said.Customer Caitlin Hurdle-Darr, who came into the shop Thursday, said maybe her daughter Emma will work there someday. She said she’s glad there are businesses like Bitty and Beau's to show that people with Down syndrome can do anything and are just like everybody else, they just have an extra chromosome. "It’s OK to be different, and it’s OK to ask questions, and it’s OK to approach people whose children have Down syndrome. You don’t have to pity us, we’re pretty darn happy," Hurdle-Darr said.Hurdle-Darr said her daughter Emma has changed their lives for the better.“Down Syndrome doesn’t have to be a scary thing, and if you do find someone in your family or a friend has gotten that diagnosis either at birth or pre-birth, don't apologize, don’t offer condolences. Be happy for them. There’s a big bright world out there for their child, and they don’t have to be afraid," Hurdle-Darr said.Bitty & Beau's Coffee shop is open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.