AN EMPLOYEE AT A POPULAR RESTAURANT IN DES MOINES IS FINDING PURPOSE AND BELONGING. SHE SURE IS. TOMORROW IS WORLD DOWN SYNDROME DAY. KCCI JODI LONG SHOWS US HOW A SIMPLE JOB TURNED INTO A MEANINGFUL LESSON IN INCLUSION. FOR THE LUNCH RUSH AT THIS SOUTHSIDE DES MOINES RESTAURANT, YOU’LL FIND ONE EMPLOYEE WORKING AT HER OWN PACE. ASHLEY COONAN ISN’T JUST WIPING DOWN WINDOWS AT BARATAS ITALIAN RESTAURANT, SHE IS LIVING THE DREAM. EVERY TIME WE WOULD COME IN, ASHLEY WOULD TALK WITH LISA AND SAY, DO YOU HAVE A JOB FOR ME YET? THIS IS MY DREAM JOB. EVERY TIME FOR THREE YEARS, THE 40 YEAR OLD WITH DOWN SYNDROME HAS SHOWED UP TO WORK WITH ARMS WIDE OPEN. SHE CAME IN AND SHE TOLD HIM, I WANT TO LEARN HOW TO DO THIS. I WANT TO LEARN HOW TO DO THIS. AND THEY JUST GO WITH IT. EIGHT NINE FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS EACH WEEK, ASHLEY CHIPS IN WHERE SHE CAN. HER WORK IS OFTEN DOUBLE CHECKED. IF YOU LOOK LIKE THERE’S FOUR QUARTERS RIGHT, JUST COUNT IT AND SEE IF THAT LOOKS RIGHT TO YOU. BUT NO ONE HERE SEEMS TO MIND. IT’S LIKE SHE’S OUR SISTER AND IT’S BEEN SUCH AN OPPORTUNITY FOR OTHER PEOPLE WHO HAVE NOT GROWN UP WITH SOMEONE WITH DOWN SYNDROME. TO LEARN MORE AND TO UNDERSTAND AT THIS RESTAURANT. INCLUSION IS PART OF THE RECIPE. KINDNESS IS THE BEST THING ON THE MENU. I WAS EXCITED TO MAKE AN OMELET WITH DANNY. SO WHEN ASHLEY ASKED THE RESTAURANT’S PASTRY CHEF IF SHE COULD LEARN HOW TO MAKE HIS FAMOUS HOMEMADE CANNOLIS. WHEN I WENT BACK THERE AND THEY WERE BOTH SMILING SO MUCH, I WAS JUST CRACKING UP. I THOUGHT IT WAS SO FUN. IT WAS THE SWEETEST TREAT. WE HAVE FUN. WE HAVE A LOT OF FUN. THAT QUICK BAKING LESSON ENCOURAGED A RECENT TRIP OF A LIFETIME. WE DID IT RIGHT BEFORE SHE LEFT AND I TOLD HER, NOW YOU TAKE THAT OVER TO ITALY AND YOU TELL HIM YOU KNOW HOW TO MAKE THEM. ASHLEY CELEBRATED HER 40TH BIRTHDAY IN ITALY, WHERE SHE SAW THE SIGHTS, DRANK WINE, AND OF COURSE, I TRIED A FRESH NOTICE AT ITALY AND I HAD TONS OF FUN. SINCE WORKING AT THE RESTAURANT, ASHLEY SAYS SHE’S FOUND PURPOSE, ALL BECAUSE A SMALL FAMILY OWNED BUSINESS WAS WILLING TO SLOW DOWN AND MAKE HER FEEL INCLUDED. IT MAKES ME FEEL LIKE I’M HONORING MY BROTHER, OWNER LISA QUILTY KNOWS FIRSTHAND HOW IMPORTANT THAT IS. HER LATE BROTHER HAD DOWN SYNDROME. SHE BELIEVES INCLUSION IN THE WORKPLACE HELPS EVERYONE SUCCEED. I FEEL LIKE SOMETIMES PEOPLE ARE UNCOMFORTABLE AND THEY DON’T KNOW HOW TO ACT WHEN THEY JUST NEED TO BE THEMSELVES. ASHLEY KNOWS THAT’S THE BEST VERSION SHE CAN BE. 1617 THANKS TO THE PEOPLE GIVING HER A CHANCE. IT’S NOT INSPIRING BECAUSE SHE HAS DOWN SYNDROME. IT’S INSPIRING BECAUSE SHE’S ASHLEY AND SHE’S HUMAN, AND WE ALL THRIVE WHEN WE’RE GIVEN THE CHANCE AND OPPORTUNITY. IN DES MOINES JODI LONG KCCI EIGHT NEWS. IOWA’S NEWS LEADER JUST LOVE THAT WE COULD ALL LEARN FROM ASHLEY AND HER ZEST FOR LIFE AND HER CURIOSITY. JUST INCREDIBLE. AND IOWA ORGANIZATION HELPS INDIVIDUALS LIKE ASHLEY GAIN STABILITY, INDEPENDENCE, AND FIND WORK. SHE’S PART OF MOSAIC’S HOST FAMILY PROGRAM. IT’S AN ALTERNATIVE OPTION TO GROUP HOME LIVING. MOSAIC SERVES 250 H
A dream job becomes a lesson in inclusion at well-known Des Moines restaurant
A 40-year-old woman with Down syndrome has found purpose, friendship and belonging while working at a longtime south side Des Moines restaurant.
Updated: 5:28 PM CDT Mar 20, 2026
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Before the lunch rush at Baratta’s Italian Restaurant on Des Moines’ south side, Ashley Kuonen can be found at work, carefully wiping windows and helping where she can.For Kuonen, 40, the job is more than a routine; it’s her dream job.”Every time we would come in, Ashley would talk with Lisa and say, ‘Do you have a job for me yet? This is my dream job,'” said Franny Bertagnolli, Kounen’s caregiver.For the past three years, Kuonen, who has Down syndrome, has worked a couple of hours each week at the longtime family-owned restaurant. The restaurant’s co-owner, Lisa Quilty, said Kuonen has become part of the restaurant family.”It’s like she’s our sister,” Quilty said. “And it’s been such an opportunity for other people who have not grown up with someone with Down syndrome to learn more and understand.”That sense of belonging grew when Kuonen asked to learn how to make Baratta’s homemade cannoli. Pastry chef Danny Gatto gladly showed her and the lesson sparked an easy friendship. Quilty said creating that kind of opportunity is deeply personal. Her late brother had Down syndrome, and she believes workplaces become stronger when people feel accepted.”It makes me feel like I’m honoring my brother,” Quilty said. “I feel like sometimes people are uncomfortable and they don’t know how to act, when they just need to be themselves.”‘Finding support’The nonprofit organization, Mosaic, serves nearly 600 individuals in Central Iowa with intellectual and developmental disabilities. For close to two decades, the organization has helped match individuals with host families, an alternative option to group homes, creating stability, independence and job placement. “There’s consistency. That person knows them, knows their goals, knows their dream and really is an extension of that person’s family and supports them and all aspects of their daily life,” said Abigail Barker, area director.Through the host family program, Kounen was matched with Bertagnolli 12 years ago. Ever since, they say the new family dynamic has improved Kounen’s well-being.”It is forever home,” said Kounen. “It is a family. We call each other sisters, and we mean it,” adds Bertagnolli. “We always joke that we’ll be together forever, and when we get older, we’ll be like the Golden Girls.” Through the organization, there are currently 250 host families in the Des Moines metro area.
DES MOINES, Iowa —
Before the lunch rush at Baratta’s Italian Restaurant on Des Moines’ south side, Ashley Kuonen can be found at work, carefully wiping windows and helping where she can.
For Kuonen, 40, the job is more than a routine; it’s her dream job.
“Every time we would come in, Ashley would talk with Lisa and say, ‘Do you have a job for me yet? This is my dream job,'” said Franny Bertagnolli, Kounen’s caregiver.
For the past three years, Kuonen, who has Down syndrome, has worked a couple of hours each week at the longtime family-owned restaurant. The restaurant’s co-owner, Lisa Quilty, said Kuonen has become part of the restaurant family.
“It’s like she’s our sister,” Quilty said. “And it’s been such an opportunity for other people who have not grown up with someone with Down syndrome to learn more and understand.”
That sense of belonging grew when Kuonen asked to learn how to make Baratta’s homemade cannoli. Pastry chef Danny Gatto gladly showed her and the lesson sparked an easy friendship.
Quilty said creating that kind of opportunity is deeply personal. Her late brother had Down syndrome, and she believes workplaces become stronger when people feel accepted.
“It makes me feel like I’m honoring my brother,” Quilty said. “I feel like sometimes people are uncomfortable and they don’t know how to act, when they just need to be themselves.”
‘Finding support’
The nonprofit organization, Mosaic, serves nearly 600 individuals in Central Iowa with intellectual and developmental disabilities. For close to two decades, the organization has helped match individuals with host families, an alternative option to group homes, creating stability, independence and job placement.
“There’s consistency. That person knows them, knows their goals, knows their dream and really is an extension of that person’s family and supports them and all aspects of their daily life,” said Abigail Barker, area director.
Through the host family program, Kounen was matched with Bertagnolli 12 years ago. Ever since, they say the new family dynamic has improved Kounen’s well-being.
“It is forever home,” said Kounen. “It is a family. We call each other sisters, and we mean it,” adds Bertagnolli. “We always joke that we’ll be together forever, and when we get older, we’ll be like the Golden Girls.”
Through the organization, there are currently 250 host families in the Des Moines metro area.
Dining and Cooking