Credit: Lansdale Borough
The March winner of Lansdale’s Business of the Month award is one with a common name, and a goal that’s anything but.
“Tonight’s journey is to a place that is truly uncommon: Manna’s ‘Common Grounds’ café. Don’t let the name fool you, because there’s something extraordinary happening here,” said councilman BJ Breish.
Located in the North Penn Commons complex on the 600 block of East Main, Manna on Main Street is a borough-based nonprofit that has spent over 40 years feeding the hungry, and over the years has expanded its efforts into job training, via programs like the “Common Grounds” café and program Breish honored before borough council on March 20.
“It’s a social enterprise with a powerful mission: to empower people. Since opening in 2016, they’ve transformed lives, by training approximately 180 individuals in customer service, cooking and production skills,” he said.
“I guess you could say, Manna’s Common Grounds café isn’t just a place where you can order a latte, but a place where you can also learn a lot, eh?” Breish said, drawing chuckles and groans from council and the Manna personnel on hand to hear the presentation.
Of those trainees, a total of 124 have successfully completed and graduated from the program, with 85 percent of those employed at the time of graduation. Breish cited the case of Rob Stabb, who started as a trainee, then became an intern, and now is a fulltime leader of the program.
“Personal development is the heart and soul at Manna’s Common Grounds café. Their mission of empowerment is impressive, but their impact goes even further. The trainees in the program have helped produce over 140,000 meals annually, through a contract with Meals on Wheels,” Breish said.
“This is a critical service for the food insecure, and our homebound seniors. That alone makes a real difference, in our community and beyond,” he said.
As he spoke, Breish showed a series of photos of Manna staff and trainees preparing and distributing meals, as he described the “amazing scones, mouthwatering chickens salad sandwiches, and fresh-baked cookies that are hard to resist,” but it’s the people who are key to the program’s success.
“Chefs, like chef Nick Heishman, create incredible recipes, and the dedicated team of seasoned staff and trainees then bring them to fruition,” he said. When Chef Nick stated at the café in 2022, he introduced the scone, and has since sold over 3,500 of them with no signs of slowing down.
“He even affectionally calls them ‘the gateway scone,’ because once new customers try them, there’s no turning back, he’s got customers for life,” Breish said.
During the pandemic in 2020, the doors to the café were closed to the public, but their food production continued stronger than ever, because staff and trainees are dedicated to serving their community.
“It’s more than just a place to eat, it’s a place where people grow. When you believe in that mission, nothing is going to slow you down,” he said.
Those who shop at the café get to know those who serve, and can learn about the other nonprofits housed in the commons complex, all while helping those trainees find their calling.
“I guess you could say you leave full, filled, and feeling fulfilled,” he said.
Café leaders are constantly expanding their programs, and now offer catering and rental spaces, with payments directly supporting Manna’s mission to feed the hungry.
“It’s a place where purpose meets deliciousness, and each meal is served with a side of empowerment, at no extra charge. You’ll come here to learn, and you’ll come here to eat, but you leave with so much more,” he said.
He then joined EDC chairman Andrew Carroll in presenting the award to several Manna staffers, to a round of applause from council and the public. Heishman thanked Breish for the presentation, and council for their support.
“We’re putting people before profit at the Common Grounds café. I think that really shows in our food, and our interactions with the community,” Heishman said.
Stabb added that he was also a trainee of the program, and rose through the ranks from intern to assistant café manager, and soon manager, learning all the way.
“It’s been a great experience for my strength and growth and development. There’s been a lot of unique things that I’ve learned,” he said, calling it “a great opportunity that brings a lot of people together.”
“It’s got a diverse group of people, where it truly is like a common ground. There’s all these unique, different people, from all these different backgrounds, and it’s just a place where the community can come together for improvement and betterment of people’s lives.”
Manna Executive Director Suzan Neiger Gould added thanks to council for their ongoing support, since 2016 when the town donated to the North Penn Commons complex capital campaign, and said that facility has been key to making the café happen.
“You had a part in this. Without North Penn Commons, without that beautiful lobby, this program would’ve been much more difficult to do. I believe Manna would’ve figured out a way to do it, but you really made it special, in the sense that we were able to create that lobby, to create the café, with your donation and all the wonderful donations that came from this community,” she said.
Council President Mary Fuller thanked Manna for their long partnership with the town — and for the scones they served at the meeting — before recalling the early days of the commons complex.
“As someone who was there when we were first starting to form this idea, when I was involved with Manna, it is so wonderful to see where this has gone, from just an idea. So congratulations to everyone,” she said.
For more information on Manna and its various programs visit www.MannaonMain.org.
This article appears courtesy of a content share agreement between North Penn Now and The Reporter. To read more stories like this, visit www.thereporteronline.com.
