Upward and Onward in the Ravenswood Bakery and Cafe Building
By Kathryn Moery
Those two magnificent floors in the building above the new Misericordia Hearts & Flour Bakery and Café invite the curious eye upward from street level. These floors house the Ravenswood programs, which include the art studio for Misericordia residents, and coffee production, creating more opportunities for competitive employment in the community. Visiting the building with Michael Diaz, Administrator of Employment Services and Community Day Services, and Charles Carper, supervisor of the coffee packaging program, we talked and toured the upper floors of this incredible site to see what is happening, and to learn what the future holds.
The second-floor art studio enjoys panoramic terrace views. On any given day, six to eight residents will find inspiration for creating their Artist in All works under the guidance of Allison Slak, a painter and jewelry-maker in her own right. The views outside on the terrace may activate the creative juices and rhythms to flow, but Allison also integrates chair yoga outdoors on the terrace to encourage spirituality and sensory stimulation. On our recent visit, we encountered colorfully masterful renderings of ’57 Chevies, the greens of a peaceful golf course, and the leaves of a tree bursting forth with color as the artist worked. These artists will receive fifty per cent of the proceeds of the sale of their art, closely comparable to private art sales by artists in the community at-large.
The second-floor space houses a full array of art supplies. It is also planned to be used as an event space which can open onto its terrace - on a starry night, perhaps. The walls of the studio area will soon become a gallery space for hanging artwork. In addition, the back area affords overflow packaging space for residents employed in the bakery packaging area in the main building and will be used as overflow space during busy times, such as the Christmas season. Here, too, there is also a break area for the drive-through operation employees to enjoy a meal.
The coffee production area on the third floor houses the automated systems that will allow the expansion of this micro-business with the goal to be more competitive in tapping into the corporate friendly business and office markets. Automated production allows quick turn-around without building up inventory to meet demand. The manual operation from the old building shifted to this new home where grinding and packaging of coffee will increase. Loyal customers of the Coffee from the Heart brand will notice a significant change in the size and shape of the new 12-ounce package when it starts to roll off the new production line. It includes a QR code to encourage re-orders. Coffee from the Heart will be using Colectivo as the new bean supplier, featuring a coffee fan favorite roast. The proceeds from this operation will be used to expand employment opportunities for more residents.
The business plan is that the operation ultimately will run three product lines simultaneously (adding two additional Colectivo brand flavors) which means additional positions for resident employment during each shift. There are four skills performed in a production line completed by residents: grinding, weighing, packaging, sealing, and fulfillment. One staff member oversees residents' work from 9 AM – 2:30 PM on weekdays, eventually hoping to expand the operation to a full eight-hour day.
The resident workers in the coffee operation have been training on the automation and will begin packaging actual product soon. The businesses, flourishing in this resonantly beautiful building standing in the community, serve as a beacon for spreading familiarity with the Misericordia brand and broadcasting the organization’s dedication to affording the dignity of work for its residents. To volunteer to help in the coffee production program, contact Paul Schwartz (
