A local catering company offering employment for people with cognitive disabilities branched out with a temporary café.

Munch Catering has been offering pre-made meals and events services since 2015. Last month, customers were offered the option of dining in.

Amanda Lewis chose to dine at the temporary café when it opened.

"We have a meeting of about 12 people tonight, and we chose Munch because in the disability community, it's really important for us to support each other,” she said.

The non-profit social organization also offers training for long-term jobs, so adults with cognitive differences can maintain employment in their field of interest.

“I love the concept that Munch is training and providing employment for people with disabilities. We've been using them as much as we can over the years, and the quality of the food is really good," Lewis said.

Joshua Selinger has worked at Munch for about a year learning cooking skills. Having customers was an added opportunity to grow his social skills.

“Beforehand, I did have some problems interacting with other people,” he said. “It feels great to be able to learn new things about something like this and be able to be paid for it as well,” he said.

Rick Morrell, executive director for Munch Catering, said it is important to have an inclusive workplace.

“When you spend time with people with cognitive differences, they realize they're just people,” he said. “They’re intelligent, they’re fun, they’re really interesting people with lots of competency, so we focus on the ability rather than the disability.

Part of job development at Munch is training for other longer-term employment that suits the person’s interests.

“I think there are a lot of places that would be open to working with people because the difference is if they can meet them, see them at work and realize that ‘Wow, that is really a good job that they've just done,’” Morrell said.

Munch is taking a break from dine-in suppers, but the catering company continues to operate and is gearing up for a busy holiday season.

However, customers are hopeful the restaurant will be back soon.

-With files from Morgan Campbell