This intentionality is reflected the moment you walk in and meet the proprietor. Russell is a quiet, thoughtful man with a ready smile for all.
When he speaks, he is thoughtful and measured. When he creates his tantalizing, from-scratch pizzas, he is deliberate, and the customer gets the sense that their order is an individualized creation, not a mass-produced entity.
Russell has always had an interest in food. He has a background in art and culture. Food, as an extension of that, seemed a natural way to create something useful.
After running the legendary Fallout Records and Skateboards on Capitol Hill for 10 years, he took up part ownership in Ballard's Tall Grass Bakery. The Battaglias opened Lola's South City Bakery in November 2007, and they've lived in the neighborhood since 1990. Opening a new business can be daunting to the most experienced entrepreneur, but to open a new bakery almost single-handedly is another level of stress altogether.
"There's a lot of work to this work," Russell noted. "So many unexpected things happen, such as the whole low-carb kick and then grain prices skyrocketing. But the biggest challenge might simply be to get people to get away from the one-stop-grocery-shop mentality. Part of what is attractive to me in this work is the old way of doing things. In the old days, people went to the butcher, the baker, etc, and not just Costco."
Still, Russell is hopeful about Hillman City.
"It's good to have a business close to home," Russell said. "When we moved to the neighborhood in 1990, we saw what happened with Columbia City and felt more progress could happen in Hillman City."
Six-year-old Lola, who had been drawing nearby during the interview, piped up and said, "I like to come here because I get to see my mom and dad!"
Lola's pictures decorate the brick-walled cozy space, another way these two passionate owners strive to create a small-town feel to the place. As an aside, Russell recounts that when the couple explored names for the bakery, Lola told her folks she'd really be so proud if they would name the place after her. So they did.
The bakery's products are reflections of the thoughtful, intentional way the Battaglias live. Russell sees his bakery as the opposite of fast food.
"There is a health crisis in this country," he said. "It is important to get people to slow down and enjoy good food and be with family and friends. It's important, you know."
The bakery features traditional artisan breads that have a bit more whole grain than your ordinary grocery store brown bread, such as the granary loaf consisting of 80-percent whole grain spelt flour and cooked spelt grain. They also feature naturally leavened rye. Breads are rotated seasonally.
During the interview, Janet was baking chocolate chip cookies and the air was redolent with the smell. She makes all of the cookies from scratch, including snickerdoodles, Russian teacakes, and an unusual flower garden cookie: lavender shortbread with a rosehip glaze. Batdorf Bronson Organic Fair Trade Coffee is featured.
Organic and sustainable house-made ice cream and sorbets are another treat. Also, children's needs comprise an important part of the menu with kid-friendly staples such as fresh juice and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
Everything is vegetarian, and there are vegan options are available as well. As Lola pointed out, "We don't use any meat."
Pizzas are a special draw and feature unusual ingredients such as caramelized onions, field roast, Mama Lil Hot Hungarian peppers and blue cheese, all tailor made to the customer's request.
"We're just a neighborhood, family friendly bakery," said Russell in a summation of the bakery's mission. "My wife and I are concerned about the nature of industrialized food in this country. We strive to use local products and to work as locally as possible."
For the Battaglias, this bakery business is more than just a business. It is a way of life, a choice they have made to offer the public a high quality product that is locally made, vegetarian, and organic and/or sustainable. For them. It is food with a choice, intentional and mindful, and therein lies the difference.
Lola's South City Bakery, 5607 Rainier Ave. S., is open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday; and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesdays. Phone (206) 725-0443.
Mary Sanford may be reached via editor@sdistrictjournal.com.[[In-content Ad]]