ENDEAVOR

Last April 20, on the top floor of a building at Bonifacio Global City, I joined my friends from the People Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP) – Rico de Guzman, Vir and Grace Zata, Cecille Huidem and Bobby Galvez – in a chat with Mary Grace Dimacali, founder-owner-CEO of Mary Grace Café. We are writing a field book on Diwa-Kapwa as a way of doing business, or managing an enterprise, that is founded on spirituality and humanistic growth. Cecille, who is the author of the chapter on Mary Grace, shared with us her notes from that conversation.

But first, a quick flashback: the Mary Grace story in five notable episodes, as posted in their website. 

“As a child,” shares Mary Grace, “I was always thrilled to watch dough expand with a life of its own, a fascination which I carried on to motherhood. 1983: “On the mornings of my children’s birthdays, I would delight them with personally decorated cakes.” 1986 marked a turning point.

Encouraged by her husband Hector, she took a 12-month course on baking in the US: “I came home to harness all I had learned to perfect my own formula for a local delicacy, an ensaymada with just the right texture and flavor. After bouts of tears and frustration, countless family taste tests over Sunday lunches, and the seal of approval from them, most especially my parents, I knew I hit Eureka!”

The next point in the timeline is 2002, quite a leap, that glosses over the many bazaars where she promoted and sold her ensaymada, and she declares: “After several Christmas seasons and with the hope that family and friends can bring home a little bit of Christmas all year round, I opened my first little store.” This was a kiosk in Glorietta 4.

(During the interview, Mary Grace reminded me that I was one of her professors in the Master in Entrepreneurship program at the Asian Institute of Management around 2000. Her thesis was to prepare a five-year business plan for a new business, which turned out to be Mary Grace Café.)

2006: “Four years and eleven kiosks later, I opened my first café! A home away from home, where family and friends share stories over hearty meals, capped off by a wonderful combination of Mary Grace hot chocolate and my signature ensaymada and cheese rolls!”

The narrative’s finale is on today: “To this day, my fascination with dough lives in my heart, alongside whipping up new recipes for all to enjoy during joyous Sunday family lunches – the source and inspiration of Mary Grace.”

We asked her on how she recruits her employees and provides jobs. She said: “During Mary Grace’s early days, I took it upon myself to recruit young girls from provinces to give them employment. We went to the extent of providing them housing. Now, we continue to give work opportunities to those not necessarily from top schools. What is most important is that they are hard working. I have always believed that the greater the gift, the smaller the seeds.”

Providing employment was what enabled Mary Grace to achieve phenomenal growth during the past few years when the pandemic drove many businesses to the ground. As her son Adrian shared with us in an earlier meeting, Mary Grace opted to open new stores and kiosks in new malls that had been completed while Covid-19 raged on from early 2020 to mid-2022, to be able to give jobs to young women and men, especially those from economically challenged families. It would have been easier and simpler for Mary Grace to concentrate on delivering products to homes, but this option was not as beneficial as enlisting and enabling young people to join the workforce and become breadwinners.

As observed by Cecille, “Mrs. Dimacali is a Marian devotee and a mother first, before a businesswoman. Thus, Mary Grace’s management philosophy is God- and Marian- centered and its heart is that of a mother.”

Her influence is evident in the crafting of the organization’s corporate mission, vision, and core values, as follows:

“Mission: To share the goodness of the Filipino home, one ensaymada, one café, one guest at a time, setting off in each one of them a spark of joy that spreads goodness and grace!

“Vision: Mary Grace is more than just a bakery café making the best ensaymadas, cheese rolls, cakes, and comfort food. We are a source of Filipino pride and joy, showcasing to the world who the Filipino is, what we can create, how good, and how great we can be.

“Core values reflect the owner’s management philosophy and heart. Following the acronym CHRIST, these are: Christ-centered; Humility; Respect for others; Integrity and Honesty; Service with compassion; Thriving towards excellence.”

Such lofty statements are tested in the crucible of day-to-day business, as when the company must deal with employees found to have violated rules and policies.

Mary Grace shared her thoughts on integrity: “I find it important to protect our people against possible temptations. Fix the systems in a way that opportunities for theft are controlled. But should there still be integrity violations, we do what is necessary. Although  if I have known the person for  a long time and believe that he can be  redeemed, I may decide to demote him instead until such I see that he has fully learned his lesson.”

Hearing this, I was reminded of a similar philosophy adopted in Human Nature, a social enterprise that grew out of Tony Meloto’s Gawad Kalinga.

Human Nature has a “no firing” policy; employees who have admittedly committed dishonesty are reassigned and retrained, and given an opportunity to reform.

When asked about the future of the family enterprise, she reflected: “I am pleased that all my five children are now involved in Mary Grace’s operations, using their individual gifts and interests, I have 11 grandchildren who, this early, I am making sure, have solid catechetical foundations. This is important if they are to be involved in Mary Grace’s future.”