Business Profile: An Honorary Citizen of LFP

Driving along Bothell Way heading west there is an obvious shift from older strip malls, random businesses and restaurants to a more cohesive town center.  Where people are found out of their cars, on bikes, walking dogs, jogging or just strolling with their family.

Jeff Weissman, owner of Great Harvest Bakery, is one of a few that have worked hard to provide this effortless sense of community.

He opened the doors to the bakery about 20 years ago with big hopes. He wasn’t in business just to make a dollar. He was in it to fulfill his own dreams. 

Ever since he was a young boy living in Montana and working for his father, he new he wanted to be involved more in his community. When his father passed away he packed his bags and moved to Seattle, a place he called “heaven on earth.” 

“I made these heavy business decisions based on my heart,” he admits.

He wanted to be part of a business that was deeply committed to the community that reached out, connected and gave back to the locals.

Despite these lofty goals he seems to not take himself seriously and is very open, inviting and full of enthusiasm. He looks about 50 rather than in his 60s and has a boyish charm that infuses his modest bakery with a sense of joy.

This boyish charm he carries with him overshadows the hard work and intelligence it takes to create the best product he possibly can.

“I feel like every loaf of bread, every cinnamon roll, every cookie has Jeff written on it in big letters,” he says.  

He beams as he speaks of how satisfying it is to wake up every morning knowing he and his small staff have done their very best to create wholesome and delicious baked goods for the people of this community.

He hopes his business can create a thriving and positive environment for LFP and he has done just about everything to make that goal a reality.

“I’m an activist for what the community wants done,” he states.

He sits as the chair of public relations for the LFP Rotary Club.  He got involved with them because they allowed him to do projects in the community. One thing he does every day is give bags of day old bread to the Rotary who then takes them to the food bank. 

“It means if you are poor you can go to the food bank and the bread is as fresh as the bread you’re buying at the grocery store,” he said.

In fact the bread he makes daily at Great Harvest is made only from organic wheat, bought fresh from a Washington farmer named Wade Troutman. He’s a biodiversity farmer, meaning he keeps a third of his land in its natural state. 

Plus, to ship the wheat Troutman and Weissman use big totes that carry 2000 pounds of wheat and can be used over and over again. 

Weissman is also one the founding members of Friends of Third Place Commons who helped bring the Farmer’s Market to LFP. 

He’s also is involved in the fundraiser for Children’s Hospital called ‘Raising Dough For Children’s.

This fall he will be doing a fundraiser for Shorecrest band. Plus, This year he is also starting an environmental camp for kids, where all the proceeds of the day from the bakery go to the camp.

“Charity is a daily part of our business,” he says. 

He has a stack of awards on his small, cluttered desk, waiting to be hung.  The one most recently given to the Seattle resident, is from Dave Hutchinson, the LFP mayor,  an ‘Honorary Citizenship' award. 

“Nobody else got this one,” said Weissman with a big grin. “I’m seriously proud of this award.”

His small town dreams are coming true, and as he said, “I’m still learning every day.”