Let the cookies burn

Café Appalachia in South Charleston, West Virginia is a cozy, sunny spot with mismatched tables and chairs, ornate stained-glass windows and woodwork, herbs growing under grow lights in a slender tower, and a charming outdoor seating area amidst bountiful gardens.

What was once the stage of a Methodist church now serves as a kitchen for the café, operated by local nonprofit Pollen8. Its social enterprises—including two cafés, a farm, and a residential treatment facility—are central to its mission of breaking the addiction cycle by providing prevention, treatment, and reintegration programs for women.