The kitchen at the roller skating rink her parents co-owned was tiny, with one flat top grill and a deep fryer. Nevertheless, Benita Campbell loved it and began working there at the age of nine, a year after she was diagnosed with juvenile macular degeneration, an incurable visual impairment.
Campbell’s eyesight has continued to deteriorate over time, and her vision is now 20/400. Though she can see dark and light and most colors, objects and people are blurry. Both of her sisters were also diagnosed with the same condition in childhood. From early on, her parents believed in raising their daughters to do everything that a seeing person could. It worked: Campbell and her sisters all graduated from a traditional high school, and each of them is now a successful blind food service vendor.
Benita Campbell at the ribbon cutting in North Carolina for her business.
“I get around so well,” says Campbell. “Most people don’t even realize I have an issue with my eyesight.”
Campbell has become a leader and mentor for visually impaired entrepreneurs in North Carolina, and serves on the state’s Elected Committee of Blind Vendors. For her 20 years of service running the Lighthouse Cafe at the Naval Hospital at Camp LeJeune, Campbell received an official Letter of Commendation from the hospital’s commanding officer, for her “exceptional professional ability, personal initiative, and loyal devotion to duty in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.” She increased annual revenue by 400 percent at Marine Corps Naval Hospital at Camp LeJeune.
Like many great opportunities, hers happened by accident. Campbell had been asked by a friend to run the hospital’s ice cream shop temporarily. But her homemade stews, sandwiches and meatballs became such a hit that when the larger, 50-seat hospital cafe needed new management, the military doctors and nurses lobbied their bosses to give her the contract.
“They sent emails saying ‘Why not let the ice cream ladies have it?’” says Campbell.
From there, she expanded her staff, stayed open seven days a week, and offered even more delectable meals. The Lighthouse Cafe flourished, and Campbell soon expanded back to the former ice cream shop as well, turning it into a gourmet coffee bar called The Beacon Coffee Shop.
Just when everything was steadily humming along, Campbell was hit with an unwelcome surprise. Hospital officials planned construction that would require her to close the cafe for six to nine months. She thought about her staff of 15, and how they lived paycheck to paycheck. Then she remembered her tiny kitchen days, and hammered out a proposal to keep the café open and serve the same volume of customers in a smaller space. This allowed her to keep the staff employed without interruption, and ensured all the hungry doctors and nurses remained fed between their shifts.
“By serving military customers, I felt like I’m doing my little part to serve my country,” says Campbell. “Their dedication and loyalty to the country is amazing, I admire them tremendously.”