BENGALURU: A cafe that started in a shed-like setup in Hubballi in 2018 before growing into 27-outlet chain with presence in three cities had the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, savouring its black coffee and nodding his head in appreciation here on Sunday.
Scholz, who was in the city, visited Mitti's renovated Coffee Board outlet on Queens Road.
Mitti Cafe's uniqueness is defined by those serving you - persons with physical and mental disabilities. One can find anything from an espresso-based coffee, cappuccino, latte, mocha, Americano, a variety of cold coffees, sandwiches, snacks, and freshly baked items.
The chancellor, though, stuck to sugarless black coffee with cookies. "He spoke to us and made an attempt to understand the cafe. It was not a formal meet," said Wilfred Lancelot, head of coffee & creatives at Mitti.
He said the cafe got to know about the chancellor's visit just last week. "We are part of the disability network alliance that has 100 NGOs of people with disabilities. Apart from this, word of mouth and people we meet on the street are also responsible for adding to the workforce," Lancelot said.
The 200-staffer Mitti Cafe, started by Alina Alam, who is from Kolkata and studied in Karnataka, is looking to expand in Mumbai, after establishing its presence in Delhi in 2023, Kolkata in 2021, and Bengaluru in 2017. Although their first outlet in Hubballi is not operational now, the chain will soon touch 30 outlets. They are currently incubated by NITI Aayog's Atal Incubation Centre.
The personnel are trained in Bengaluru and Kolkata for three months before they handle operations at the outlets.
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