lisa k./picnic/melt

photo by steve metz                                                                                                                                                                    lisa k.

     It's a wonder that anyone gets a damn thing done.  I'm contemplating the number of things that have to go well in order to be able to complete something as small in scope as, for instance, this blog.  First, I need an idea.  Sometimes it comes from within.  Sometimes it doesn't.  Next, establish contact with the person or organization.  Then there is scheduling, along with batting ideas and requirements around via email.  On the day of the photo shoot...well I'm not even going to bore you with the number of things that have to go right to take a decent photograph.  Lastly, the words have to come and the quadrillion things required to make the world wide web function all have to be in place.  All of that, for me and the wonderful people I feature here, to be able to put this in front of you.

photo by steve metz                                                                                                                                                              goodness

    

     So then, let's imagine what it must take to have an idea for not one, but two successful businesses, both of which are leading edge, unique, and mission driven, both of which provide jobs to people who seem very happy to be working.  There must be thousands of variables and I'm sure that a lot of them shift each day: a myriad of tiny on/off switches which need to be dynamically managed from behind the curtain. It can't be done well by a lone person.  It takes a team of like minds.  Lisa K., owner/operator of micro-market Picnic and Pantry, as well as restaurant Melt knew this long before I did.  Teamwork and idea sharing are the cornerstones for both of the thriving, Northside businesses.  

photo by steve metz                                                                                                                                                               teamwork

   
     "Sometimes people ask me how I do it, " she tells me. "I don't.  We do it."  In fact, I heard that word a lot in my conversation with Lisa...we.  There's a lot of power in it: (your resourcefulness)(x), where x = the number of people you allow in the circle.  As a person who tends towards diving solo and surfacing for air not nearly often enough, it was really wonderful for me to receive this message and to see with my own eyes how well it works.     
     

goodness

goodness

photo by steve metz                                                                                                                                                               teamwork

     

     Both of the businesses, now considered staples, not only by Northside locals, but also by the scores of Cincinnatians who patronize them as destinations, were born of Lisa's desire to commune and to evolve.  "In past jobs, when I was working for other people, I didn't really feel like they were listening to their employees or their customers.  So, I knew that I wanted to change that." Her goal is to have as comprehensive an understanding of her businesses as possible, and she encourages her coworkers to do the same.  "The idea is for each person to plug themselves into as many corners of the businesses as they can."  Everyone is encouraged to see opportunities for change.  Everyone is encouraged to speak and to listen.  

photo by steve metz                                                                                                                                                               teamwork

     

     This philosophy must, in part, be responsible for the evident satisfaction and happiness of the people working in her businesses.  There's a lot of smiling going on.  

     Melt Eclectic Deli, opened Nov 23, 2005, at 1:30 PM, amidst sarcastic jeers of "good luck" from locals who were used to seeing many efforts to open new shops and restaurants in the Northside business district fail.  The premise was simple, to provide vegetarian and vegan friendly, whole, unprocessed foods to the community...to fill our bellies with awesome, wholesome goodness, and, to position food as an entry point into a greater dialog about our responsibilities as people on earth.   

  

photo by steve metz                                                                                                                                                              goodness

     

     Melt quickly became more than a restaurant: it became a community hub where people began to hear words like sustainability, local, organic, and green.  Patrons learned these ideas by way of example and took them home, incorporating them into their own lives, into their own businesses.  These shoots and sprouts, these tiny propagating efforts, collectively, help mend some of the things we have broken in our world.  They also give rise to other ideas, like bike cooperatives and weekly, local farmer's markets.  For me, personally, I can't visit a business which puts the environment and the local economy at the top of its priority list, without wanting to make changes in the way I conduct myself after I walk out the door.  

photo by steve metz                                                                                                                                                               teamwork

     Picnic and Pantry, in turn, was born of the success of Melt.  It's actually an extension of its predecessor, and was conceived by Lisa and her band of creative cohorts as a solution to two problems.  They needed more kitchen space and a way to buy greater quantities of supplies at a cheaper cost.  No one wanted to relocate, because they loved the space.  So, the decision was made to open a second space two doors down and to utilize it as a public extension of Melt's kitchen.  Picnic and Pantry would sell the ingredients used in Melt's menu and offer new concoctions, as well.  Two birds, one stone.  At Picnic, you can buy ingredients for your own kitchen or delicious and unique dishes prepared by the staff.  You can even graze the hot food and salad bar, and have a seat outside in the courtyard to eat it.

photo by steve metz                                                                                                                                                               teamwork

       What's next for this enterprising crew of system-buckers and paradigm-shifters?  Let's say that you should keep your eyes peeled for a local food periodical.  They'll also be figuring out a way to grow their own food for use in the businesses.  A lot of the employees are already doing it in their own lives, and it's just a matter of time before Melt and Picnic have productive gardens of their own.

photo by steve metz                                                                                                                                                               teamwork

     As for me, just last week, a few scant days after my time with Lisa and the gang, I bought some cedar and built a raised vegetable bed for our own yard.  Tiny shoots and sprouts.

Melt Eclectic Deli
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Picnic and Pantry
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