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May 30, 2019
DENVER
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Workers with disabilities show their skills Owner of two restaurants fights to sustain business, which has been declining BY CASEY VAN DIVIER CASEYVANDIVIER@YAHOO.COM
When Andy Ngovanduc describes his job at Pizzability, he makes his workday sound ideal. “We just chill and hang out, and we eat the whole day long,” he said. “It’s kind of fun.” The 21-year-old Denver resident, who has autism, is one of roughly 25 employees at the Cherry Creek restaurant at 250 Steele St. Since opening the restaurant last December, businesswoman Tiffany Fixter has dedicated herself to building a staff of energetic, hard-working individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Fixter, 35, also owns the Brewability Lab at 12455 E. 39th Ave., a brewery with the same goal that opened in 2016. When Ngovanduc was first hired in January, he worked one hour per week as Fixter showed him the ropes and helped him adjust to being an employee. Fixter now schedules him to work 15 hours per week between the two stores. “Our goal is to show the public what’s possible and showcase the abilities that my staff has,” she said. But, after a positive start, Fixter now feels she’s in a fight to keep her businesses alive. Pizzability and Brewability attracted a fair amount of customers at first, she said, in part because of mainstream media covering the stores and videos going viral online. However, the number of customers has started to decline as online conversation about the businesses has faded. SEE SKILLS, P15
Tony Saponaro, left, and Andy Ngovanduc behind the counter at Pizzability.
CASEY VAN DIVIER
THE BOTTOM LINE PERIODICAL
“I think if any quarterback’s main goal isn’t focused on winning games, first off, it’s not the quarterback you want on your team.” Drew Lock, Broncos rookie quarterback | Page 13 INSIDE
VOICES: PAGE 8 | LIFE: PAGE 10 | CALENDAR: PAGE 9 | SPORTS: PAGE 13 VOLUME 92 | ISSUE 29