It's the People by Jill Foucré

I said I would write the blog post. As is often the case, things that appear effortless require planning and work. Our Marcel’s blog posts are one of those things. Both retail staff and chefs write them, alternating every two weeks. I make out a schedule six months at a time but I don’t assign topics. Everyone can write about what they want as long as it has some connection to Marcel’s. I also do very little editing. We have a lot of really good writers in our midst. And no one really gets paid to do it – they get a token of appreciation from me but not nearly the value of the work they put in. But everyone does it (generally) without complaint. So when I made the schedule for the second half of 2021, I said I would write the blog post that fell around our anniversary week.

I have been thinking for weeks about an angle. A grand metaphor. A heartwarming story. I even looked at world, national, and local headlines from September 26, 2011. Kind of a boring day, as it turns out. Charlie Sheen settled his lawsuit with Chuck Lorre. Stuff like that. Then I decided to think about what has been on my mind lately. There are so many reasons why I have a heart full of gratitude. Friends and family with serious illness but with loved ones to help them. People in my life who have propped me up during some pretty dark days the past few years. Those in our community and in our world who have compassion and caring for all individuals, especially those who are in the most need.

What’s the common thread? People. So that’s my angle. Marcel’s is about the people. Yes, we have fabulous merchandise and wonderful classes and beautiful displays and all of that. But what we really have are the people. The customers. The staff. The chefs. The culinary assistants. The dishwashers. The partners. The makers. The creators. And quite a few people fall into more than one of these categories. Generous, thoughtful, imaginative, resourceful, talented – and all with a dedication to Marcel’s. It doesn’t happen without all of you and absolutely everyone plays a role of some kind. Thank you for being my people. Cheers to the next 10 years.