In November of 2011, he showed it to Bautista, who was shopping around the area for a bigger space for Startup Edmonton, the non-profit he co-founded. The words out of Bautista’s mouth were: “Yup! This is it.”
Standing in the gymnasium-sized chasm on the top floor, Bautista was upbeat about Startup Edmonton‘s 72 desks available for rent and the additional 100 drop-in work spaces; about how the open design will be perfect for the campus-like environment he wants; about why they chipped inches of white paint from the bricks, re-stripped the hardwood floors and restored the wood beams to look like wood again.
“That’s the kind of style of building you want,” he explained.
For what? “Just random collisions of stuff.”
24 Hours at the Mercer
08:30 –Breakfast at Roast Coffeehouse + Wine Bar.* May we suggest the Kick Start oatmeal, a cinnamon, nut, fruit and caramel mélange?
09:00–Get to work at one of 72 desks for rent on the third floor, or one of more than 100 drop-in desks available to members.
11:00–Take your creative downstairs to the graphic designers at Brain-works Media Solutions.
12:30–Lunch at the Mercer Tavern. Chef Dan Gibbons, formerly the sous chef at Joey on Jasper, takes care of the rest.
15:00–Back to Roast for a recharge.* The Coffee of the Week is Verve’s Butcafe, a sweet Rwandan beanwith a tinge of cinnamon.
16:55–Investors just called. They’re “in the neighbourhood” and “interested.” It’s going to be a long day, so run to Fabloomosity to buy flowers for your partnerwhen you get home late.
18:30–Entertain venture capitalists in the J.B. Mercer Room. Hook your laptop to the projector, order some drinks and sell, sell, sell.
20:00–Bring flowers, and good news, home. Sleep.
08:30–Hire D’lusso Event Furnishings for celebration party.
*Editor’s note: Roast is now closed.