O'LEARY, P.E.I. — There’s more to Maple House than meets the eye.
“A lot of people, they come in and they see a café and a bakery; that’s all they see,” says Laurie Ann Waite, site manager for the Community inclusions-run facility.
For the most part, she said, customers only see the Community Inclusions staff and clients who work in the café.
Behind the scenes, though, there is a beehive of activity where meals and bakery goods are prepared and, further back, a day program where staff work with clients one-on-one, focusing on life skills and employability skills.
On any given day, there are about 14 staff and 10 to 14 clients in the building.
“It’s a different dynamic,” said Community Inclusions executive director Kevin Porter.
“They all kind of work together. This is a social enterprise of the Maple House Bakery and Café and Community Inclusions. It’s meant to work together,” he said.
“It can be challenging, but there’s so much to learn. It’s such a neat environment. We’re so lucky to have it."
One of those challenges has been finding enough workers to operate all components of the building.
“We’re feeding customers, we’re doing take-out orders on the phone, we’re doing two lunch programs, and we always have to be prepared for the next day,” Waite said.
Community Inclusions has operated at Maple House Bakery for many years.
Customers’ orders are filled at the bottom of the stairs, right inside the main entrance.
Four years ago this month, Maple House moved from its old location and into the former Liquor Store building on Ellis Avenue.
On Feb. 29, 2016 the operation was expanded to include the café which serves daily breakfast and lunch crowds.
That expansion, Porter said, has also been good for bakery sales, as it brings many more people through the front doors.
The café has fostered a large number of returning patrons, some of whom are in every day. And yet, patrons only see the front part of the busy operation.
“I often thought, when a big crowd is in attendance, I'd give a two-minute spiel: ‘Thank you for coming, we appreciate your support. When you’re here, you help people with intellectual disabilities. We all appreciate it’,” Porter said.
Instead, staff are preparing for an open house-style job fair so that they can show perspective employees what goes on behind the café’s walls. It will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 6-7:30 p.m. They’re in need of a baker, casual staff for the café and some relief workers.
“We’re kind of short everywhere,” Waite said.
Porter said there is still room for expansion at Maple House, but first, they need additional staff.
“Somebody who has a good attitude and is willing to learn, boy, they can go a long way,” he said.
“Getting to know the clients is icing on the top. It’s awesome.”
Waite thinks some perspective employees are apprehensive about applying there.
“There are so many moving parts that it can be very overwhelming as well as exciting,” she said, but added new hires quickly come to appreciate the positive work environment.
“They love it. Once they get in and know what we do, they love it.”
Stacie Gallant, who manages the bakery and café component of the operation, said “These guys put a smile on your face from first of the morning right until they leave,” she says, describing the joys of working with Community Inclusions clients.
“I really do love having the clients in the kitchen. They make the day go by faster. They are so positive; they make the whole day wonderful. I can’t say enough about them.”
