帝王会所

 

Athens, OH is a quilt, and each person in the community is a colorful square knitted into it. From the undergrad students and the graduate students to the professors and the community members, from the business owners and artists with differing abilities to the veterans and the survivors--each one of us is a square in that quilt. Athens, OH has picked up a sewing needle and knit Ornery Vets Cafe into that quilt.

. The cafe was founded by a team that understands the importance of inclusion--and of course, access to delicious soups, salads, and smoothies.

But how did the cafe鈥檚 founders meet? And how would they all be able to create the welcoming environment that they wanted?

In January of 2019, Mercadies George enrolled in 帝王会所 to receive her BSS degree in Entrepreneurship and Consumer Psychology. After six years in the Marine Corps, she decided it was time to move home to raise her son, with dreams of one day opening a cafe. When Mercadies described her ideal cafe, she said, 鈥淚 want it to be a place that people go because they choose to go and because it makes them happy. It makes them feel more connected to people in Athens.鈥�

Mercadies had no idea that an opportunity to open a cafe would come so quickly. 鈥淚t sounds corny to say, but--the whole situation was very serendipitous,鈥� Mercadies remembered.

While pursuing her degree, Mercadies enrolled in a course taught by Professor Thom Stevenson in the Patton College of Education. When she explained her passion to open a community-driven cafe, Thom鈥檚 eyes widened. Thom told Mercadies, right then and there, 鈥淲ow, I think I have a project that you would be a great fit for.鈥� That project was Ornery Vets Cafe.

Two days after Mercadies met with Thom, she met with the OVC founding team at Passion Works, which is a community art center founded by Patty Mitchell, where artists with differing abilities create powerful works of art. You can see their artwork all across Athens, and you may even recognize the --the official flower of Athens, OH.

 

 

Because of Patty鈥檚 life experiences and her experience opening Passion Works, she has special talents for creating an inclusive and welcoming space. At the meeting about OVC, Mercadies met Patty. When Patty creates different spaces, like Passion Works, she said, 鈥淭he intention has always been to reimagine institutional culture that supports people with developmental differences.鈥� One of the concerns that surround people with developmental differences is that they often lack access to healthy food. For OVC, Patty said, 鈥淲e鈥檝e been talking for years about having healthy food in the studio for everyone who comes in.鈥� OVC, just three doors down from Passion Works, will be a great way for the Passion Works artists and the rest of the Athens community to have access to healthy food.

At the meeting, Mercadies also met Joel Laufman, an owner of both the Passion Works building and the OVC building. Joel is a Vietnam veteran and a retired History and Government teacher. After he met Mercadies to discuss the possibility of her leading OVC, Mercadies recalls him telling her, 鈥淵ou know what? It鈥檚 gotta be you. We鈥檙e gonna get this thing up and running, and then once it gets settled we鈥檙e gonna dump it into your hands and it鈥檚 gonna be your baby.鈥�

Mercadies--honored and shocked by the proposition--agreed. After talking with Mercadies, anyone could see the strength and perseverance she put into life, day in and day out. To her, opening a new business is 鈥渒ind of like the Marine Corps--it鈥檚 a new challenge. It鈥檚 something different and I鈥檝e done a lot of research as this has all slowly come together.鈥�

Now, Mercadies is the General Manager of OVC. However, adjusting from six years in the Marine Corps to everyday life back home was a challenge.

 

 

As a Vietnam veteran, Joel understood the challenges Mercadies went through when adjusting from service to returning home. He said, 鈥淓ven when I looked for help, there wasn鈥檛 any鈥� PTSD is not a prison, but it sure feels like you鈥檙e doing time.鈥� While he said this, his eyes scanned the cafe, looking out the windows, anticipating and remembering the explosions in the war. For Joel, opening this cafe would help create a safe space for people like him that live with PTSD. 鈥淎nd I thought,鈥� he said, 鈥渢hat before I pass on to the happy hunting ground, that I would like to do something for my brother veterans. And this is it.鈥�

Thom, too, found himself impacted by war. His uncle served in the Vietnam War and his grandfather served in World War II, both of whom returned with serious injuries. It was heartbreaking. Thom said, 鈥淚 never served, but I was the youngster who sat on the living room floor and listened to people who served share their lived experiences.鈥�

 

 

Each founding member had a passion for breaking down barriers through community and food, whether that be for people with developmental differences, veterans, or more. When creating this space, the founding team wanted more than just a cafe--they wanted an inclusive, welcoming environment that clearly followed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Knowing that some people cannot walk up the stairs to enter the cafe, the team created a wheelchair-accessible ramp entrance. All of the doors, too, are wide enough for those in a wheelchair to enter, welcoming all with a vast embrace.

As a professor, Thom knew that 帝王会所 students would be invaluable to creating an accessible space; they, too, were part of the fabric of Athens, OH. Thom explained, 鈥淲e鈥檙e using mechanical engineering students to help design equipment in the space.鈥� The counters by the window raise up and down so that people can adjust the counter to sit in either a tall bar stool or a wheelchair. The other tables and counters throughout the cafe are all ADA-regulated by height and width so anyone can sit there. He continued, 鈥淲e had fashion merchandising students who helped choose the color of the walls as part of their class structure. We had Restaurant, Hotel, and Tourism students help design the menus.鈥�

When the Restaurant, Hotel, and Tourism students experimented with the OVC menus, they had the opportunity to serve the potential menu items to the Passion Works artists. The artists then told the students what they liked about the menu. One artist with differing abilities, in tears, shook Thom鈥檚 hand and said, 鈥淵ou know what? No one has ever asked me what I can have in a smoothie. People typically just tell me what I have to have.鈥�

The Passion Works artists, another square of the Athens quilt, also helped create the cafe by painting their signature murals on the walls and the cabinets. Patty said, 鈥淲e want to have a Passion Works presence and honor the social space for the veterans so that everybody feels comfortable. And we want to also illustrate that [Athens] is an intersective community, not specific to one group.鈥�

 

 

 

Because OVC is community-driven, their business plan relies on working together with local restaurants. Restaurants like Zoe鈥檚, Purple Chopsticks, and others will supply OVC with locally-sourced food. Mercadies said, 鈥淚t鈥檚 such a good surprise that people are already so supportive鈥� People are already believing that we鈥檙e gonna make a change.鈥�

After hours, OVC hopes to welcome veterans, assault survivors, people with PTSD, people with differing abilities, people with addiction, and more for specialized programming. Mercadies explained, 鈥�One of the things that we want to do here is let people know: It鈥檚 okay. There is nothing wrong with you, you鈥檙e not broken.鈥�

Now, the OVC team is preparing to welcome the entire community with open arms. Mercadies continued, 鈥淲e鈥檙e gonna make a difference and make people鈥檚 lives better.鈥� She paused, searching for the right words. 鈥淎nd, [it鈥檚] such a happy butterfly-in-the-stomach, you know, lightning-through-the-veins, kinda thing.鈥�

Mercadies, Joel, Thom, and Patty will (did) open the Ornery Vets Cafe doors on Thursday, March 11^th 2021, and say, 鈥淥kay, Athens. We鈥檙e here.鈥�

Follow  on Facebook. The address is 30 E State Street. They are 3 doors down from Passion Works and across the street from Domino鈥檚. Enjoy!