Indigenous-owned Dugald café all about bannock, brew and belonging
'You can feel a wonderful spirit as you walk through the door,' wrote one person on the coffee shop's social media page, days after the First Nations-owned enterprise hosted a soft opening in mid-May.
'The bannock was fluffy and tasty… and don't even get me started on the coffee,' commented another.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
Tanya Clarke named Grey Wolf Cafe in Dugald, which opens this weekend after her father, who was bestowed the traditional name Grey Wolf Man after his death.
'Great prices, friendly staff… 6/5 in our books,' came one more.
'We've only been open for (three) weeks but we already have our fair share of regulars, including a group of 10 or 12 ladies who'll join a few tables together and stay for a couple of hours, plus students who pop in for caramel lattés and macchiatos,' says owner Tanya Clarke, seated in the tastefully decorated spot situated directly across the street from the Springfield Curling Club.
Clarke, a mother of four and grandmother of one, laughs as she recalls a piece of wisdom she received from the manager of Lift Coffee & Tea in nearby Oakbank, when the Grey Wolf Café was still in the formative stage.
'They told me opening a café is like having a child — you can forget about sleeping for the first six months or so,' she says, noting she has invited various dignitaries, including Chief Larry Barker from her home community of Hollow Water First Nation, to this weekend's festivities.
'What I've since discovered is that's the perfect metaphor. There are definitely days when I've felt like I was floating on my feet, not so much from staying up all night fretting over numbers, but more from wondering what else we can do to make coming here a positive experience for everyone.'
'They told me opening a café is like having a child – you can forget about sleeping for the first six months or so'–Tanya Clarke
Clarke, a mediator, leadership coach and professional development trainer based out of Yellowquill University College, split her time growing up between Transcona and Interlake districts such as Lundar and Komarno. Her father, who was Anishinaabe, was a residential school survivor. It wasn't until 2016 — five years before he died at 79 — that he began openly discussing that period of his life with his four children.
'My cousins grew up in community but we didn't, and there were definitely occasions of me feeling like I didn't belong,' says Clarke, who was seven when her mother, who was of German descent, died following a prolonged illness.
'When I did find out more about my dad, whose name was George but went by Buddy, things started to make sense for me. I was able to process a lot of what I'd been dealing with — or lacking — when I was younger.'
Clarke and her partner Kevin moved to Dugald three years ago. Last June, she was out for a walk with their dog Blue when she noticed there was a vacant space in Dugald Station, a multi-tenant strip mall.
The self-described coffee aficionado had always dreamed of running a café of her own, and because her youngest was about to graduate high school, she figured she might actually have the necessary free time to do so. Not to mention that nothing comparable existed in the town of about 800 — a number she understood would continue to grow over the coming years.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
Grey Wolf Cafe came to be with the support of First Peoples Economic Growth Fund, an organization that assists First Nations entrepreneurs.
After discussing the notion with her family, she set up a meeting with the First Peoples Economic Growth Fund, an organization that encourages and supports First Nations people in Manitoba who are delving into entrepreneurship. She next put together a multi-detailed, 63-page business plan, listing everything from desired menu items to job descriptions for prospective staff to projected sales.
The venture required a tag, of course. Clarke says it was an easy decision to go with Grey Wolf for Grey Wolf Man, the traditional name her father received at a ceremony that was held following his death.
'When I was thinking about what to call it, Grey Wolf Café just made sense,' she says, crediting her 29-year-old daughter Sierra for coming up with the howling-wolf logo that adorns one of the café's bay windows. 'And because I do a lot of cultural-awareness training, I felt like it was a good, positive way to celebrate culture not just by honouring my dad, but also anybody else who attended a residential school.'
She received the keys to the site on Dec. 1, at which point she promised herself she'd be serving her first cuppa joe by the beginning of February — a timeline she quickly realized wasn't viable, given the amount of updating that was required.
New flooring, new wainscoting, a fresh coat of paint, a brick-encased gas fireplace built from scratch, she says, listing some of the renovations she undertook with the assistance of Kevin, her kids and her new landlord.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
A Red Seal chef from York Factory First Nation helped with menu items like the bannock breakfast sandwich.
When Clarke wasn't busy making things over, she was spending hours taste-testing as many as 20 coffee blends, prepared with beans roasted in the province. She also recruited Dana Constant, a Red Seal chef from York Factory First Nation she knew from volunteering at Folklorama's First Nations pavilion, to lend a hand on the food side of things.
'We definitely wanted bannock for the breakfast sandwiches and Dana, who is 28 and brilliant, came in and worked with my son Vincenzo. Between the two of them, they arrived at three different (breakfast) sandwiches, as well as a lunch menu that, for now, includes a turkey-BLT and a ham-and-Swiss, both served on ciabatta.' (There is also a selection of pastries and for the younger set, soft-serve ice cream.)
Oh those, Clarke smiles, when a visitor asks about a set of handsome wooden armchairs positioned around a live-edge table. Her father gave them to her years ago, and as soon as she decided to open a café she enlisted the services of Anishinaabe textile and interior designer Destiny Seymour to recover them with one of her Indigenous-inspired patterns.
Fabian Sanderson (no relation to writer) is the chief executive officer of the First Peoples Economic Growth Fund. While the organization has in the past aided businesses such as gas bars and convenience stores, Sanderson says what they are particularly interested in is working with places where 'restoration… perhaps some reconciliation' is part of the agenda.
'Obviously there are a lot of advancements that have been made — which is fantastic — but there are still prejudices that are alive and well today,' Sanderson says.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
Vincenzo Marinelli prepares lunch sandwiches.
'So when you have a company that comes up like this, sometimes it's throwing a dart and hoping it lands because you might have a community that supports it or you might have one that totally rejects it, because of lack of understanding or ignorance. That's why for us, it's super exciting to say, 'Hey, this is what an Indigenous business looks like.''
Sanderson says he and his colleagues feel like 'proud parents' whenever a venture they're involved with begins to get its feet under it and attain its goals.
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'To have somebody like Tanya who has kids and who wants to create a business to help support her family is fantastic,' he continues. 'Unfortunately, you still don't see a lot of inter-generational prosperity within the Indigenous community — you see it all over in other areas of the world — so when we witness something that has the potential to be carried on by the next generation, we do whatever we can to help them achieve that success.'
Besides running the café, Clarke, who currently has seven employees, all from the general area, intends to market bagged coffee under the Grey Wolf banner at the retail level. That includes one type, Buddy's Blend, named for her dad. She'll also be designating space inside the 23-seat locale — occupancy can be expanded to 37 for anticipated book readings and corporate get-togethers — where Indigenous artisans such as Caroline Cheekie of Cheeky Beader can sell their wares on a consignment basis.
'And my long-term goal would be to have more Grey Wolf Cafés, right?' she says, adding whenever she's unsure of next steps, she seeks guidance from more knowing sorts.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
Grey Wolf Cafe will sell bagged coffee, along with wares from Indigenous artisans on a consignment basis.
'I have my dad's photo on the fireplace mantle and if I'm ever stuck, I'll smudge and we'll talk. Mom, too.'
david.sanderson@freepress.mb.ca
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
Lexi Taylor feeds a sweet treat to a canine customer.
David Sanderson
Dave Sanderson was born in Regina but please, don't hold that against him.
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