Presenting the Tyler Street Collective!

By Sheri Leigh, January 30, 2026

“No one chooses which life they are born into, and that’s the commonality of the human experience.”
Thomas Farrell

I want to share with you the dream of a local teacher of special education and eleven year Benicia resident, Joe Farrell.  He and several of his former students are working hard to help make Benicia a place where everyone with the desire to build community is encouraged, supported and successful.  As a teacher in special education, his students are neurologically atypical.  Some are developmentally delayed through Down’s Syndrome, others are on the spectrum, and some live with a debilitating disease, such as cerebral palsy.  Together, they are putting together a food service business that combines nutrition, creativity, entertainment, industry, and a welcome mat for everyone who wants to take part.  Presenting the Tyler Street Collective!

As Joe laid out his plans for this restaurant with me, I found his enthusiasm to be contagious.  It became clear to me that Joe’s endeavor was more than an idea, it was a calling.  And he is supported by his family.  His wife Natalie works in behavioral science, and shares his passion for encouraging those who are non-neuro typical to be a contributing part of the community.  The couple have two daughters, both of whom show compassion and concern for those with special needs.  The elder, now in middle school, is a peer leader.  

I also learned that Joe comes from a family of advocates for people with special needs.  His grandfather, Thomas Farrell, was an early modern advocate for people with disabilities and is quoted in the article opening.  After having cared for and eventually having to institutionalize his own daughter (Joe’s aunt), a woman with severe autism, Joe’s grandfather went on to fight for the rights and dignity of the handicapped.  He worked at the State and National levels under the Reagan administration, helping designate National Barrier Awareness Day, an important precursor to the American Disabilities Act.   

Joe is able to develop his plan because of his family and work experience, a creative mind, an enthusiastic attitude and a flexible work schedule.  After several years of working as a special education teacher in the Benicia Unified School District, Joe shifted to working with the North Bay Regional Center as an Independent Living Specialist and Supported Employment Program Provider for young adults with disabilities.  Last summer, Joe came up with an exciting idea and reached out to one of his recently graduated students, 19-year old Quinn.  Quinn was completely on board with Joe’s idea, and came up with the “The Tyler Street Collective” business title, named after the Benicia street where he lives and as a nod to his supportive family.  

They began their endeavor with applesauce.  Joe got in contact with Kozlowski Farms in Sebastopol, where his father used to pick apples as a teenager.   Joe’s grandmother, Evelyn, prepared a decadent Gravenstein applesauce from these same apples.   Joe, Quinn, and a few other of Joe’s former students picked, and peeled, cored, crushed, and boiled the apples, and then, using Evelyn’s recipe, made over 600 hand labelled jars of organic applesauce.  They did this with help and support from a friend and colleague of Joe’s, Chef Matt Beard of Enchanted Hill Camp for the Blind in Napa, and through Joe’s supported employment services program. The young applesauce makers obtained their Food Safety Certifications and were able to use the industrial kitchen at Enchanted Hill Camp.  

The applesauce has been a hit!  It was promoted and sold at holiday events at Drift, where the owners have championed an inclusive work setting.  Additionally, Quinn and the other young talents sold many jars through Pacific Markets in Sebastopol, where the Gravensteins are grown – a true testament to the quality of the applesauce.  And this is only the beginning.  Joe and his young partners are in the process of obtaining their legal non-profit status and are looking for a permanent restaurant site in Benicia, which they hope to have up and running by 2027.  The restaurant will not only feature the applesauce, but also will be a space where customers can relax, order good, healthy, and locally grown food, listen to live music, and be served and entertained by this exceptional group of young people. 

Joe recognizes that his life has been gifted, and that he has had every opportunity to thrive.  Now he feels it is time to offer the same empowering opportunity to those who live with disabilities and have historically been shut down, rather than elevated.  Benicia is home to an abundant population of people who live their lives with physical and cognitive challenges.  Let’s support Joe and his team and help him build this inclusive endeavor that will benefit these young people and their special talents AND the community.  

You can buy a jar of the applesauce – March 28!

>>Applesauce tastings and jars for sale will be available at Fiestas Primavera this year on Saturday, March 28th at the Benicia Main Street (Gazebo) Park on the corner of 1st and Military between noon and 5pm.

And if you have ideas for the Tyler Street Collective gang or want to help financially or logistically, you are invited to reach out to Joe tylerstreetcollective@gmail.com.