We were lucky to catch up with Oceania Cavazos recently and have shared our conversation below.
Oceania, appreciate you joining us today. One of the most important things small businesses can do, in our view, is to serve underserved communities that are ignored by giant corporations who often are just creating mass-market, one-size-fits-all solutions. Talk to us about how you serve an underserved community.
The Deep End Cafe & Gallery serves communities experiencing poverty, addiction, food desserts (lack of access to nutritional foods) and other issues related to marginalization such as discrimination and racism. Our mission is to provide healthy food and beverage to the communities we serve and make intentional social impact as a business. There are two main ways for how we create social impact in the communities we serve. One example can be seen through our partnership with Tuguava Coffee, a local Detroit company that sources our coffee from a family farm of 5 generations in the Volcanos of Guatemala. Tuguava works with a company that provides clean water filtration systems and services to the families surrounding the farms. Proceeds from the coffee we sell go toward funding these services. The other example is the consistent curation of art and events in our gallery that represent the people we serve in the most authentic way. It is commonly known that people from marginalized communities are not typically afforded access to quality gallery spaces that promote their stories and perspectives authentically and to new audiences. At The Deep End Cafe & Gallery, selected artists and writers can display their work and “Meet & Greet” audiences to tell their stories and perspectives in an environment that celebrates who they really are. We believe that art is a powerful and humanising way to communicate experiences across cultures and social groups which is necessary for equity and social progress.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
The first thing people usually know or learn about me is that I am a poet. I have been writing poetry since I was about 7 years old and got a short poem published in the local papers in New Boston, MI. My father went to prison when I was 8 and would write me poems in his letters. He would give me prompts to write about and I took these seriously. This became a way for me to cope with my anger and sadness. It also became a way of exploring and developing my own thoughts and ideas. I didn’t become a spoken word poet until I was 18 and participated in my first poetry slam. After that, I performed everywhere and quickly became known on my college campus, the University of Michigan, as a talented poet. I started making money performing poetry and was invited to join a professional poetry company called The Guild. I then went on to self publish my first book of poems which sold roughly 2000 copies in the first year. After college, I worked in the field of education for about 10 years at various non-profits and schools managing programming, mentoring students and teaching poetry. I also participated in and led community organizing efforts in my neighborhood of southwest Detroit. In the midst of working in the field, I earned my M.Ed. at the University of Michigan where I studied leadership, policy and system improvement. After receiving my Masters in 2020, I shifted my attention to entrepreneurship and consulting. I became very passionate about solving problems related to poverty and racism in our communities through business and project management. After working as a consultant for a small consulting firm and privately for some local businesses, the opportunity presented itself to open my own business in Ypsilanti. With the support of The Squeeze Station in Detroit, my close friends and family, and my partner Pierre Goree, I was able to open The Deep End Cafe & Gallery which I envision as a space for me to continue the work for my community that I’ve always done in a scalable, sustainable and innovative way. Since opening our doors 3 months ago, I have been invited to speak to high school students in Detroit and Ypsilanti and host them at the cafe. We host open mics that encourage people of all ages to tell stories and share perspectives in a safe and empowering setting and we host gatherings for artists, non profit leaders and families to engage in critical conversations about mental health, poverty and other topics impacting our communities. My hope is to grow into a larger space and continue to develop educational and artistic programming that can accommodate a growing network of critical thinkers and leaders in the communities we serve. Why a cafe & gallery? Aside from the fact that I have always loved coffee with all my heart, I know that coffee shops have long been one of the primary public gathering places for members of society to congregate, discuss politics, conduct business, explore the arts, or socialize. The coffee shop has formed the foundation for numerous social developments due to its cultural significance and I hope to continue that tradition here at The Deep End Cafe & Gallery.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
Growing up, I was always told by everyone around me including family and teachers that going to college would secure my future financially. I was told that as long as I got a career job I would be taken care of. After attempting to lean on both higher learning and career institutions for 10 years from the age of 18-28, I was reminded each time I was short on my own rent or groceries that this lesson needed to be unlearned. Times are always changing and institutions throughout the United Stated are beginning to realize that reform is needed. Employees are not being paid enough to survive and are expected to dedicate too much time to the office. Not only was my pay never enough, my time was totally consumed as well. I had no chance of using any of my energy for side projects that could potentially grow my finances. I was always expected to dedicate majority of my time and energy into my career jobs or school and the little time I had remaining was spent taking care of my family and home life. I experienced no time for self care or exploring my passions. I sometimes had to sacrifice time with my children to pick up side hustles just to survive. On top of all of this I was working in communities that experienced all sorts of trauma related to poverty and was offered no support to cope with these experiences. It feels very scary to unlearn a lesson that directly relates to your survival. Leaving an institution to pursue entrepreneurship seemed terrifying and risky since I couldn’t depend on that consistent check even if it wasn’t ever enough. When Covid-19 hit our communities and I lost my job in education due to not having childcare for my children and still being expected to work in person, I took that as a sign to finally take a leap of faith and make something with my own skills and talents. I started several side hustles and did consulting on the side until I finally secured an investor for my own business. I still struggle to make ends meet even as a business owner, but at least I know that my work is connected to my passions and I can manage my time in such a way that allows me to still pursue other means of income and spend adequate time with my family. Unlearning the traditional ideology that institutions can provide stability for me and my family was tough but necessary in an evolving society that is leaving the concept of working 40+ hours a week in an office in the past, especially since the pay scale and benefits are no longer as dependable as they use to be.
We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.
My business partner, Pierre Goree, and I met around 2020 via social media. It was a typical social media exchange when a man wants to flirt or get to know a woman. He “slid in my dms.” I accepted his proposal for a date and we hit it off. We started casually seeing one another and really became great friends on top of being romantically involved. We found that we both came from low income backgrounds and became hustlers in different ways trying to remedy ourselves and our families out of poverty. We both took wins and losses. When we met, we were both sort’ve transitioning out of the “streets” and yearned for a legitimate and stable business opportunity that also aligned with our values. After consulting with The Squeeze Station in Detroit for several months, we learned a lot about how a cafe can be a lucrative and socially responsible business to operate. We were encouraged by the Squeeze Station to take advantage of a space for rent in Ypsilanti on Eastern Michigan University’s campus. Pierre and I decided to put our money together and pay for securing the space and all of the renovations and costs required to get the doors open and the business active. We have since been open for 3 months and have learned a ton. We are constantly working together to improve our processes and build capacity. We have yet to be able to receive any funding or loans for the business. We are definitely in need of this support and hope to continue to build our credit and outreach efforts to gain this kind of financial backing. Coming from poverty, we both leaned on credit to survive in many instances and therefore did not get the privilege to build positive credit. We are passionate about being the example and model for other people in our community for how to set ourselves up for success in entrepreneurship despite having little to no access to resources. We have learned the power in collectivity as we build relationships with other local businesses and community leaders and lean on one another in times of need. Together we aim to build something much bigger than ourselves.
Contact Info:
- Website: tdecafe.com
- Instagram: @tdecafe
- Facebook: tdecafegallery
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXAS5TaqLD-ghtbkqlgqWiw
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-deep-end-cafe-and-gallery-ypsilanti