New opportunities for those living with a disability

Located in Balaclava, All Things Equal opened in Carlisle Street, a cafe that hires everyone equally whether they have a disability or not. The cafe is a non-for-profit where they really want to see the individuals who otherwise don’t get the opportunity to be paid an award wage.

Jonathan Wenig is a father of a daughter who has autism, and has an interest in cooking, realised there wasn’t a lot of job opportunities out there for his daughter. Jonathan came together with other people who created a board which is where the idea sparked of All Things Equal. A cafe that allows those who have an interest in cooking like his daughter and hires those regardless of if they have a disability to work in the field they’re interested in.

Since opening in January, the cafe has 13 people hired who live with a disability, which is about half of the staff hired in total. Operations Manager, Bianca Stern said there’s a warmth, comfort and a safe space for everyone of all abilities to come together.

Bianca said she is grateful to be part of it all and said everyone is excited to see the impact they’re already making and what impact they will make for the future. With just starting out “the potential here is absolutely limitless” and there is so much more the cafe can do she said. They plan to do more with their name All Things Equal by branching out and expanding to all different sites. “There’s so much potential we can have from this place. We are definitely not just stopping here” she said. They would like to open up an ice creamery or even a bookstore to allow more people with a disability to get experience in different careers.

All Things Equal is a place where everyone can come together whether as a customer, for work experience or paid employment. All employees have an opportunity to learn a skill that otherwise they might be lacking, or it might not be available to them Bianca said.

She said it is unbelievable to see the improvement and development for all individuals at the cafe “whether it might just be confidence or whether they’re learning how to take orders properly or how to be more organised.” The skills they are learning are back of house in the kitchen knowing how to prepare food properly and in a safe way, communication, literacy and numeracy by reading the menu, showing up on time and wearing the correct uniform. Not only are they learning the skills you learn in a cafe, but they are also learning the soft skills by working in a team, collaborating and learning from each other.

Sam Pamensky, who’s one of the employees, has enjoyed working at All Things Equal and aims to continue getting better at his job. This is Sam’s first job and since starting he has noticed more customers coming in and enjoying the food and coffee, “I’ve found the cafe has really grown since.” He is one of the front of house workers as a waiter at the cafe since it opened and is still learning on the job. “I’ve learnt to communicate a lot more better,” he said since starting his job at All Things Equal. On the job, he welcomes customers into the cafe, takes their orders and brings their food and drinks out to them. “I like the environment,” he said, “everyone is all very supportive of each other” they all help each other out and overall, he said it is a very friendly and happy cafe.

All Things Equal is now open 7-days a week.