Merrill Mugs, Hanawalt Arts: Busy West Side Morning
Merrill Mugs giving students a lesson in business and life skills.
It’s a beautiful day all over town but an especially invigorating one on the west side of the district. The Merrill Mugs coffee shop is open for business on Friday mornings at Merrill Middle School (7:45-8:30) and, right around the corner, this particular Friday marked the 13th annual Fine Arts Day at Hanawalt Elementary.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a more special way to start your day than a stop at the Merrill Mugs for a jolt of fresh perspective. They serve it in a variety of flavors, from cocoa to Arnold Palmers to chai latte, and at $2.00 per, it’s a steal.
Shayla takes orders over the phone. It never rings more than once before she answers.
“Welcome to Merrill Mugs, what can I get for you?” she says cheerily. “Would you like that delivered or will you pick it up?”
Friday marked the 13th annual Day in the Arts at Hanawalt Elementary School
Emily’s making deliveries today. She drops off a French vanilla cappuccino to PE teacher Mary Ann Greteman and collects a tip besides the $2.00. Later a drop-off to vocal music teacher Courtney Copic includes a personal touch. When’s the last time the pizza man high-fived you?
Joy, Kayleigh and Amar man the order desk. Joy is the cashier. Kayleigh and Amar relay the written orders from Shayla to the baristas and banter with the walk-in customers. Amar knows a good joke when he hears one and likes to share them. The three enjoy ribbing one another when there’s a lull. Staff morale runs on the high side and is infectious. You pay for the coffee. Everything else is free.
Taped on the wall are notes from satisfied, impressed customers. The shop has only been open for four weeks now but has worked out the kinks and caught on in Room 116 where Elizabeth Grier is the boss/teacher.
“I stole this idea from Joy Davey at McCombs,” Grier says unabashedly. “The kids learn so many skills; making change, entrepreneurship, customer service; just how to deal with people in general.”
On one of their first days open for business the crew got an order from a Merrill teacher and her husband who was dropping her off for work. They accidentally pulled the switcheroo and wondered what to do when they realized the mistake, too late to correct it.
“Emily said we should call the man and apologize,” Grier said. “And offer him a free drink the next time he came in. He was so understanding and grateful.”
And he did come back; walked right into their trap. You should, too. You’ll be glad you did and should also know that we turned down an offer of a free beverage to be able to say that we received no consideration in exchange for this testimonial.
The Mug was a great springboard over to Hanawalt where a roster of guest artists, including one who looked suspiciously like Mozart, fanned out in the classrooms throughout the morning for student workshops in everything from harp music to pantomime. This afternoon the Roosevelt High School thespian troupe will deliver an all-school presentation as the culmination of what’s become an important tradition at the school.
Still buzzed from the vibe at Merrill, the classroom full of humming harmonicas sounded like a melodic swarm of cicadas. You had to be there.
