Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
We're here with Merrill Grant, August 22nd, 2013, around 8 o'clock at night
So, Merrill, how long have you been working at Mondragon so far?
I've been at Mondragon about two and a half months now. I started at the beginning of June of this year.
And what do you like most about working at Mondragon?
I like the people I work with. I also like that our workplace is very proactive about giving, I guess, a place for people who might otherwise feel uncomfortable working
and I know in food service environments there's a certain type of people who seem to thrive there and it can be a difficult place to work with if you aren't that type of person.
So I feel that Mondragon is really good at having a balance of different types of people working there. That's one thing I really like.
And I also really like the amount of creativity and freedom I have in the way I go about my day to day work at Mondragon.
What do you feel are some of the challenges working at Mondragon?
Well, at the end of the day, we're still a cafe and a retail place and a lot of our day is taken up by the menial labour required to run things like that.
So preparing food; cleaning; and working with customers.. all that kind of thing. And that's the reality of things.
And I like to say that no matter how long you've been here you're always going to be cleaning a toilet at some point or taking the garbage out.
You never get out of those things. But in a way that is a great equalizer I see.
What comes to mind when you think of how Mondragon might be of service to the community as a whole?
We are definitely a focal point for Winnipeg's radical communities and activists and other communities.
We sort of serve as a meeting place for so many of those people.
And whether those meetings are formal or just a gathering of like-minded friends we are a very physical and tangible place for people like that to meet.
And I think that's one of our strongest points. That we're sort of a physical presence that brings people together from all these sorts of diverse and interesting groups.
Are there any directions that Mondragon has not yet embarked on that you would like to see in the future?
I think for the most part people come to Mondragon but I would like to see the idea and...
Are you guys open?
yeaaaah.
Oh just go through bro!
I'm not going through.
I'd like to see that Mondragon, sort of idea, and our hard work can go out to the community. So whether that's being more involved in events
and happenings.. I know that we do Folk Fest but there are so many other things going on in our city and in our community that Mondragon could be a part of.
And I know we've started to be involved in other organizations like the Canadian Worker Co-op Federation and so on but
I think we need to branch out of just being a cafe and book store and a grocery store.
Just keep it goin'
In an ideal world what would you like to see as the ultimate Mondragon?
The ultimate Mondragon -- it sounds like, you know, the final form of a video game boss.
But I think the ultimate Mondragon would be beautiful to be in. And it would be a place that people of all sorts can come to and, you know, feel like "this is my place to be too"
I feel that we can be that sort of pillar of the community. Not just a restaurant but also sort of a community place.
And I would like to see us going and striving to be true to what we were started on : ethical food and labour practices and just really make sure that we stick to those after all these years.
Thanks for taking the time to talk to me Merrill
thank you
yeeeah