By Julia Train
For over 18 years, Lucy Paccione, owner of The Other Lucy Beach Grille, dreamed of establishing a job training facility for individuals with special needs. With a background in teaching at St. Joe’s University and a love for cooking, she envisioned a space where these two passions could merge to make a difference.
“I wanted to do that for over 18 years, but my career path took me in a different direction,” said Paccione. “Because of fear and not sure if I had all the funds, I was afraid to really pull that trigger. And then one day, I woke up and I thought, ‘It’s time.’”
Paccione’s path to The Other Lucy Beach Grille wasn’t straightforward.
Initially, Lucy and her children attempted to secure a location on the bay for a donut and hot dog shop, but lost the bid.
In 2023, however, when Paccione was preparing to launch a baking business, she received a text from a contact at Lucy the Elephant, informing her that the beachfront shack on the elephant’s campus had become available.
What was supposed to be a one-year lease has now turned into three.
Paccione’s nonprofit, the H.O.P.E. Organization, employs and trains individuals with intellectual disabilities.
More than a restaurant
The grille is just one part of Paccione’s interconnected ventures.
In its second year, she launched the H.O.P.E Organization, a nonprofit dedicated to training and employing individuals with intellectual disabilities. The name—Helping Others Pursue Empowerment—was coined by her sons at 1:30 a.m. one night.
“I was trying to come up with a name, something that was really positive. I liked the word ‘hope,’” said Paccione. “And my second son said, ‘why don’t we use hope as an acronym?’”
Then, in the middle of the night, her oldest son came up with the acronym.
One of the organization’s early successes was training a young man named Drew Sheffey, who performed so well that he was hired by Wawa in Pennsylvania for year-round employment.
The idea for Paccione’s businesses was inspired by her degree in health administration and her cousin Gina from Connecticut.
“She’s 32 years old now, and she has pretty high level skills, but no one gives her the opportunity, and if they bring her in with a job coach, they’re giving her menial tasks. And I also see the stress of my cousin that never gets a break,” she said. “So what I noticed is if I could actually improve the household by getting the adult children out of the house, working, that the family structure will be more positive, and that’s when I launched my business last year.”
Lucy Paccione hand picks every ingredient on the grille’s menu.
Expanding further with Margate Donuts
This upcoming season, Paccione is expanding again with Margate Donuts, which will operate from the same location and open Memorial Day Weekend. Unlike the Grille, which integrates both neurotypical and special needs employees, Margate Donuts will be primarily staffed by individuals with intellectual disabilities, guided by vocational trainer John Rocco.
Margate lacked a dedicated donut shop, and Paccione saw an opportunity to fill that gap while advancing her mission.
“We just felt that Margate lacked donuts. It makes everybody feel happy, and we just wanted to expand our breakfast menu and we thought donuts would be a nice addition,” she said.
