Gracie’s Coffee Shop
Gracie’s Coffee Shop, as a new component of St. Leonard’s Ministries (SLM), is currently in the development phase. Gracie’s has received some initial funding from the office of Local Initiatives to Support Communities and a generous grant from the Searle Funds at the Chicago Community Trust.
Once up and running, the coffee shop will serve two purposes: provide a setting for SLM participants to gain experience in serving the public and provide a venue for community residents to get to know the men and women of SLM.
This project has grown in recent months. Plans now call for Gracie’s Coffee Shop to have its own newly constructed site with three floors above to accommodate 20 permanent housing units for women leaving Grace House - both those with children and those on their own. The residence will be named Mabel Manor, honoring a well respected, deceased community member who attended to women in need. The concern for permanent housing for Grace House residents has been part of SLM’s long-range planning for several years and, it seems, its time has come.
