From Churchill Downs and UPS to local restaurants and a dog treat company, these Kentucky employers are creating more inclusive workplaces.
Kentucky’s inclusive employers include some of the state’s most familiar names, along with smaller businesses that give people with intellectual and developmental disabilities more opportunities to work.
Intellectual and developmental disabilities, or IDDs, are conditions that begin during the developmental years and can affect learning, communication, behavior, movement, or everyday skills. IDDs include a range of disabilities, such as Down syndrome and autism.
In Kentucky, disability organizations and employment programs often help people find jobs, prepare them for work, and provide support after they are hired.
Kentucky’s Employment First policy prioritizes regular, paid jobs for working-age people with disabilities seeking employment.
Kentucky is also adding a new resource. House Bill 562 requires the state to create and publish a county-by-county list of employers willing to hire people with alternate high school diplomas. Requirements for the new diplomas will begin in the 2027-28 school year.
These are some of the Kentucky businesses already hiring people with disabilities.
1. Wigglewow
Where: Jeffersontown
Known for: Gourmet dog treats
Wigglewow was created around the idea of employing adults with disabilities.
Founder Mark Pfeifer says the idea dates to a 2014 conversation with his brother, whose son, Soron, has autism. His brother challenged him to develop a business that could create jobs for adults with disabilities. The result was a company in Jeffersontown that makes gourmet dog treats.
Wigglewow began production in 2019. The company says it started with one employee, whom it calls an “epic chef,” in 2020 and now employs more than 30. Employees take part in each stage of making its treats. Wigglewow also adapts workstations and production methods to employees’ abilities.
2. Churchill Downs
Where: Louisville
Known for: The Kentucky Derby and thoroughbred racing
Few Kentucky businesses are more recognizable than Churchill Downs.
The Louisville track has hosted the Kentucky Derby since it opened in 1875. Churchill Downs Inc. is also on the Down Syndrome of Louisville’s Employment Partners list as a business that employs people with disabilities.
Down Syndrome of Louisville says its Career Solutions program supports more than 60 employees in the Louisville area. The program matches job seekers with employers based on their skills, talents, and personalities and provides continued support after they are hired.
3. ValuMarket
Where: Louisville area
Known for: Locally owned neighborhood grocery stores
While national supermarket chains have expanded across Kentucky, ValuMarket has remained a local name.
The family-owned company has operated in the Louisville area since 1978 and describes itself as a neighborhood grocery business.
ValuMarket is also on Down Syndrome of Louisville’s list of employment partners.
4. Wild Eggs
Where: Louisville, Lexington, Bowling Green, and other locations
Known for: Breakfast and brunch
Wild Eggs opened its first restaurant in Louisville in 2007. The breakfast and brunch chain now has 19 locations across Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio.
Down Syndrome of Louisville also lists Wild Eggs among its business partners. Other restaurants on the organization’s list include Cracker Barrel, El Nopal, LongHorn Steakhouse, McAlister’s Deli, Mission BBQ, and Taziki’s.
5. Kroger
Where: Communities across Kentucky
Known for: Grocery retail
Kroger began in Cincinnati in 1883 and grew into one of the nation’s largest grocery companies. Its headquarters remain just across the Ohio River from Northern Kentucky.
The chain also has a sizable footprint in Kentucky, with stores in 55 cities across the state. It employs people of all abilities.
Kroger also received national recognition for disability inclusion. In 2025, the company earned a top score on the Disability Equality Index for the sixth consecutive year. The company says the recognition reflects its efforts to create a workplace where employees of all abilities can contribute and grow.
6. UPS
Where: Louisville
Known for: Global shipping
Louisville is the center of UPS’s global air network. UPS Worldport, at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, is the company’s largest package-handling facility in the world. The 5.2 million-square-foot hub is home to about 20,000 UPS employees and can sort more than 400,000 packages an hour.
UPS is just one national company that employs Kentuckians with disabilities. Others on the Down Syndrome of Louisville’s employment partner list include Best Buy, Cabela’s, HomeGoods, Publix, Starbucks, The Home Depot, TJMaxx, Ulta, and Walgreens.
Best Buddies in Kentucky, which offers development programs for people with and without IDD, also mentions employers such as Bearno’s Pizza, Jersey Mike’s, Save-A-Lot, and Target as companies that hire people with IDD.
Best Buddies also says that providers such as Cedar Lake, Seven Counties, and Harbor House Louisville help individuals with IDD find jobs.
7. The Gap Factory Outlet
Where: Hebron
Known for: Clothing and retail
The Gap Factory Outlet in Northern Kentucky is a factory outlet for the Gap, one of the country’s best-known clothing brands and part of Gap Inc., which also includes Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Athleta.
The outlet works with the Northern Kentucky nonprofit Proudworks Supported Employment program and Project SEARCH to connect people with disabilities to jobs.
8. Bread of Life Cafe
Where: Liberty
Known for: Southern cooking and support of Galilean Home
Bread of Life Cafe opened in Liberty in 1995 and later moved to its current location south of town on U.S. 127.
The 150-seat restaurant is part of Galilean Home Ministries, which provides residential care and other services. Proceeds after operating costs help support the ministry, and some Galilean Home residents work at the cafe.
The Galilean Home says its 35 permanent residents have a range of needs. Some require extensive care, while others live more independently with supervision. The cafe employs people with broader disabilities than IDD-specific ones.
9. Great American Cookies
Where: Owensboro
Known for: Cookies and cookie cakes
Great American Cookies has been baking its signature cookies and cookie cakes since 1977. Today, the national chain has nine Kentucky locations, including a store in Owensboro.
The Owensboro location has worked with Puzzle Pieces Employment Opportunities program, which helps people with physical or cognitive disabilities find jobs, based on their interests and strengths.
10. Point Perk Coffee Shop
Where: Covington
Known for: Coffee and inclusive employment
Point Perk Coffee Shop is a downtown Covington coffee shop with another purpose: providing jobs and job training for people with IDD.
The shop is one social enterprise operated by The Point Arc, a Northern Kentucky nonprofit that has served people with IDDs since 1972. Point Perk employees learn workplace skills, teamwork, social skills, and good work habits while serving coffee, tea, and snacks.
The Point Arc also operates The Point Apparel and a commercial laundry that provide employment and job training opportunities for people with IDD.
A bridge to jobs
One connection that runs through the list is that local disability organizations often serve as a bridge between job seekers and businesses. They know employers in their communities and can help match people with jobs that fit their skills and interests.
Kentucky’s new statewide employer directory could eventually make more of these opportunities easier to find. The state has not yet announced when the directory will be available, but it will be published on the Kentucky Department of Workforce Development website.
