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Nearly a year after it was announced, Hugs Cafe Inc. is celebrating the grand opening of its new headquarters in East McKinney.
What happened?
The 13,500-square-foot building will house the new Hugs Cafe, a training kitchen, four classrooms, a second-story patio and administrative offices, according to the nonprofit’s website. Hugs Cafe Inc. is a nonprofit organization that offers training and employment opportunities for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Community members gathered July 2 for a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the building’s grand opening. Hugs Cafe founder Ruth Thompson said the new headquarters will change lives in McKinney and across the world. The $10 million building will enable Hugs Cafe to increase its mission-based staff by 20 with the expanded space, Thompson said.
“There was a dream, but it wasn’t a building like this,” Thompson said. “It was of employment and meaning and just a sense of belonging for a group of people that don’t always have that.”
More details
The new headquarters is located less than a mile from the former cafe location, which closed May 30. It was developed through a collaboration between Hugs and KDC, a development firm based in Dallas.
Mike Rosamond, who spoke on behalf of KDC, said it was a "privilege" to be a part of the project. He thanked multiple firms for their involvement, including Corgan, Cross Engineering, Kimley-Horn and Terracon.
Project partners broke ground on the new headquarters in May 2025 after it was announced earlier that year. George Fuller, chairperson of the McKinney Community Development Corp. board of directors, said the building marks a “new beginning” for Hugs Cafe.
MCDC board members awarded $970,000 in grant funding to the project in March 2025.
“For me, I don’t know that there’s ever been something that MCDC has been a part of that has as profound an impact as [Hugs Cafe] has,” he said. “It might be a smaller segment of our community, but by God it’s an important part of the community.”
Quote of note
McKinney Mayor Bill Cox said while people talk about parks and downtown McKinney, what makes the city special is how “we treat our people.” Hugs Cafe is “all about” giving people an opportunity to contribute and be valued within the community, he said.
“They created meaningful opportunities for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities to learn, grow, build friendships and develop greater independence,” Cox said. “These participants are empowered to discover their strengths, pursue their goals and make lasting connections in our community.”
Hugs Cafe CEO Lauren Smith said the building was “built by a village of people” who saw a vision to “create something bigger than themselves.” She thanked numerous donors who supported the project including MCDC, H-E-B, the Mabee Foundation and Compatriot Capital.
“We would like to thank the generosity of our donors and supporters that invested in this building to create a place of dignity, a place of purpose and a place that is absolutely gorgeous for our entire team to grow and thrive,” she said.
