Not Your Average Joe's growth stalls amid DOL lawsuit, closures
A period of growth and change for nonprofit coffee shop Not Your Average Joe and its affiliated businesses has come to a halt following fallout related to an ongoing federal lawsuit filed by the United States Department of Labor. Recent closures and plans for moves at three of the brand's locations — ABE's in downtown OKC and the Choctaw and Broken Arrow locations of Not Your Average Joe — came unexpectedly in recent days. The company, a nonprofit that aims to provide meaningful employment to people with physical, intellectual and developmental disabilities, posted about the various closures on its social media channels. Founder Tim Herbel told The Oklahoman in October that ABE's was moving from its current location inside Sailor & The Dock to a location currently occupied by the Not Your Average Joe in the Ron J. Norick downtown library, characterizing the current state of the organization as a season in which the nonprofit needs to combine costs. However, in a post to the brand's social media made Monday, Nov. 2, about the Choctaw and Broken Arrow coffee shop closures, the company said the closures were spurred on by "unexpected state funding cuts," but did not elaborate on what
