Asia Snetter (volunteer) and Elijah Hunter (employee) arrange flower bouquets, which will be sold at The Sunshine Stop. Photos: The Sunshine Stop
The Sunshine Stop expands work opportunities for young adults with disabilities.
When Ty Bricker visited New Jersey in 2023, she came across Compassion Café—a small coffee shop, which employs individuals with disabilities. It reminded her of a teenager with Down syndrome who was around her own children’s ages and lived back home in Minnesota. “It really made me think that there has got to be an answer here in Minnesota for people with disabilities to have that first summer job experience,” Bricker says.
When she didn’t find that answer upon returning home, Bricker decided to create one herself. In March 2024, Bricker was scrolling Instagram and found Bailey Hanson, a special education teacher from Minnetonka High School. At the time, Hanson was running a bracelet company that gave students with disabilities an opportunity to learn business principles, including concepts in development, purchasing and social media. The pair met up and realized they both had the same dream—for people with disabilities to have more meaningful employment opportunities.
With Bricker and Hanson as co-founders, The Sunshine Stop started operations that summer as a nonprofit, employing young adults with disabilities. It began as a semiweekly pop-up at an Excelsior farmers market, selling packaged snacks and lemonade. Since then, it has blossomed into a 46-employee business with its own brick-and-mortar store in downtown Excelsior at 438 Union Place Suite 2. (Check the website for hours.) The store stocks a variety of artisan elements and is a curated gift shop. Everything in the store—from coffee mugs and garden stakes to bracelets and the beads to make said bracelets—is either created or curated by its employees.
The Sunshine Stop shop offers a wide selection of retail finds for shoppers.
Employees at The Sunshine Stop rotate through a variety of responsibilities, including making and selling lemonade, working in the tech lab, engaging customers on the sales floor and packaging and labeling products. The Sunshine Stop also has a partnership with businesses in Excelsior where its employees act as greeters at those businesses.
Hanson shares a gentle reminder to everyone in The Sunshine Stop community: Its mission is all about progress over perfection. Store visitors may hear a little extra noise, feel a bit of disorganization or see a small mess here or there, but know that the main focus is to move forward with progress.
While providing employment to people with disabilities, The Sunshine Stop needs volunteers to stay in business. Volunteers work alongside employees and encourage and guide them through next-step scenarios when they have questions. The need for volunteers continues to grow as the employee application list expands. Bricker anticipates around 60 employees next year. “We already have people on the waitlist for summer of 2027 because we’re currently at our employee capacity,” she says. “Employee capacity is based on volunteer capacity. I would love more people with disabilities to be able to work with us if I can get more volunteers.”
More than just an employment opportunity, The Sunshine Stop prepares individuals to transition to bigger jobs elsewhere. Employees have gone on to work at grocery stores, coffee shops and gyms. “Working with us has definitely empowered several of our employees,” Bricker says. “It’s really, really exciting.”
Shining Bright
The Sunshine Stop’s annual fundraiser Shine Bright Night is set for 6–9 p.m. November 7. (Visit thesunshinestop.com for location and ticket information.) The event raises funds to support the organization’s mission and work.
In addition to a silent auction, raffle and gift card pull, the event features the sale of employees’ artwork. “It’s a really fun time for employees to come out with their families and friends and showcase some of the art they created during the summer,” Ty Bricker says.
The Sunshine Stop
Instagram: @thesunshinestop
