Another new business is moving into Ballard’s business district. Ballardite Megan Jensen plans to open an all-vegan bakery next month in the space formerly occupied by Moo Berries (2019 NW Market St.)
Jensen, who has been vegan for ten years, is opening Bouteloua Bakery because she says Seattle doesn’t have anything like this. “I know there are some really good places to get vegan options, but my bakery will be all vegan and provide the variety vegans can’t get elsewhere,” she says. “I’m also committed to eating organic and local foods, so Bouteloua will be a reflection of that commitment.”
Jensen will do the baking on site and will sell breads, rolls, pastries, pies, cookies, bars, and cakes. “I am especially excited to utilize my cake decorating skills to make custom and special occasion cakes,” she tells us. Her goal is to someday expand beyond the retail and do wholesale, as well.
You can learn more about the bakery and see some of the goods Jensen has baked on the Bouteloua Bakery Facebook page. (Thanks Don and Celine for the tip!)
Well I wish her luck. I’m a bit skeptical that there’s enough demand for vegan baked goods (sounds miserable to me, but what do I know – I eat animals, and feel no shame). Now an actual, normal (non-vegan) bakery might be able to make it, but I guess that’s not good enough for the spandex set. I guess we’ll see.
Yes!!!! My dad (who is not the ‘spandex set’) is vegan and this will make it a lot easier to bring something when I go over there.
There’s definitely a demand for it, and good baking is good baking, vegan or not. If the product is good you won’t have to be vegan to enjoy it, IME. Looking forward to trying it, and I love butter.
I wish her the best. She should have plenty of customers.
I’ve had a vegan bakery item once, from a vendor at the Ballard Farmers Market. I immediately dashed home, make a pan of seven layer bars, and baked some buttery shortbread. That particular vegan baked good was not for me, but I really hope she makes a go of it.
Mighty O continues to prove you wrong every day.
The Flying Apron in Fremont does vegan gluten free baked goods. I love bakeries and have tried to like their baked goods several times-I end up feeding them to the birds-they are dense-oddly flavored and nothing like cafe besalu or honore- If she does a non vegan selection-with gluten included-I would go there in a heartbeat and give it a try.
What Ballard is missing is a really good steakhouse. Everything else is pretty well covered.
Great idea! I love vegan baked goods when they are done right. MmmmmmBacon aside, she may convert a few folks to leaving out the animal products every once in a while and giving themselves longer, happier lives.
Can I hand out free bacon strips at the door?
Can Vegans use Butter? Seems like that might come from an animal.
I love chicken but I eat vegan food here and there. Highline on Broadway is one of my new favorite places, Mighty O donuts has some of the best donuts in Seattle. I love buying a dozen for my friends and then afterwards when all the praise is said let them know they are vegan friendly, they don’t know how to respond. I’ll check this place out.
you are assuming that animal products are better than non animal products, and that they create shorter lives. I hate complaining on MyBallard and usually leave that to the grumpy Gus group, but this assumption drives me crazy.
Mighty O? What, has Oprah been getting sued again for trashing the beef industry?
My Grandma ate meat and potatoes every night….for 102 years. Washed it down with 2 glasses of red wine and a before dinner G&T.
Going vegan is like giving up sex, it’s unnatural.
Weird that you say this. I’ve been thinking of bringing a friend out from Kansas City to help me start one. (Probably won’t happen, though.)
Why do trolls always mock people who are different than them? I am not arguing with them. They say if you argue with a fool, onlookers have a hard time telling who the fool is.
I eat meat, especially chicken. Not to any excess, but I do love it. I am also sensitive to animal rights, so will only eat what I am confident came from the cruelty free and eco-conscious end of the industry.
I love Mighty O donuts (although they are WAY (way way way) overpriced), I also love the vegan cupcakes that PCC makes. Hard to believe for me, a follower of the church of butter.
I wish this new business the best of luck, and congratulate all of Seattle’s vegan and vegan friendly citizens on this piece of progress!
I hope you try a vegan thing from this place, I am sure you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Maybe this will encourage mighty-o to lower their freaking prices!
Hope it works out for her! I hope “vegan” doesn’t scare people off. Many bakery items are yummy without animal products — it is not the high hurdle of baking without gluten. If you are curious, check out PCC’s vegan bakery items. Delish.
Oh come on, if we didn’t have vegans to poke fun of, how would they maintain their persecution complexes?
Which reminds me of the great vegan joke:
How do you know if someone is a vegan?
Don’t worry, they’ll let you know.
To clarify, i mean, you are assuming that non animal products are better than animal products and they create shorter lives. How is gluten and sugar better than protein.
Stop by the Mighty-O bakery in Tangletown the last hour they’re open (4-5, I think), and everything left on the shelves is a 1/2-off vegan-deliciousness blowout. And, funny thing, they’re still fresher than the delivered-last-night versions in all the other shops around town.
Walter Agony:
Please invite your Kansas City friend out! Tell him/her that if you/he/she opens a steakhouse in Ballard that is open for BOTH lunch and dinner, I will underwrite the enterprise with a delicious lunchtime cut of filet mignon or rib eye, a baked potato, and in-season vegetables (can’t eat big meals at dinner, or I’ll be up all night cuddling Alka Selzer).
Ballard really, really needs a good steakhouse. Like I said, we have too many fish, asian/thai/indian, burger, and sandwich joints. What we need is a nice steakhouse!
I’m hoping, more than anything, that she’s willing to stay open somewhat into the evening. Ever since Pauline Pastry closed, there’s been no full-fledged bakery offering indulgent desserts during the hours when one most craves/deserves indulgent desserts!
If they lowered their prices, they wouldnt have anything left over and they would be so popular that they would sell more and make everyone more likely to enjoy their delicious (but gougingly overpriced) treats. Key word: gouge.
OK thats funny.
But please NO PALM OIL! Avoiding the animal product at the expense of the tropical forest ecosystem??? Bad trade off…..
What would be really great here is if she offered non-baked goods for dessert as well, such as fruit sorbets, wine sorbets, vodka sorbets, aperitifs, dessert wines, hot liqueur drinks for chilly evenings (she needs to be open for evenings) like they do in Portland bakeries, anything dark chocolate (which is vegan, how about that???), terrific teas and tea-infused goodies, berry crisps which can easily be made vegan. So, yeah. This is the stuff I would want from a vegan dessert place.
This is wonderful news! Seattle has been sadly lacking in the vegan bakery department, and I am thrilled that one is finally opening (AND in my hood!)
Best of luck Megan!
The spandex set? Most cyclists are meat eaters you dumbass.
Totally agree!!!!
They can’t, because Butter (and butter) does indeed come from an animal.
There are so many vegan versions of butter out there, it’s generally just labeled the same, even though it’s animal product-free
Good luck with the bakery! So happy to see this as Ballard really lacks decent vegan fare. Hopefully, you’ll have some healthy treats in stock as well!
@mmmmmbacon- Wow, your ignorance and judgmental attitude is astounding. I can’t help but think how ironic it is that vegans often get coined as being judgmental. How about you do a little homework on compassionate/cruelty free living, factory farming, its effects on the environment and overall human health? While you’re at it, please define “normal.” Last time I checked murder wasn’t “normal.” And, “spandex set?” That provided a good laugh.
great response. seriously, don’t trolls have better things to do with their time than to mock ideas and concepts they clearly know nothing about?
dumb. why do vagan haters think they are being clever when they use ‘bacon – whatever’ as their go-to reply?
I don’t find them overpriced at all. Quality costs money.
Because no one can resist bacon! Besides, it’s unnatural for homo sapiens to be vegans. Just ask any evolutionary scientist.
Megan the Vegan?
Vegan, gluten free? What is it, cardboard?
Some serious food neurosis out there.
I am not a vegan, per say, but I love vegan baked goods. The taste rich and healthy. I will frequent this new shop a LOT, but on one condition: do not make tiny skimpy little portions and then charge an arm and a leg. So make big fat cakes at really easy price points (remember, most of your customers will be us $9.00/hr Ballard retail workers) and better yet, offer a $1.00 espresso and I’m in!~ (If I see a $3.95 2-bites wedge of cake the size of a credit card, I will never return. )
My bet is you wouldn’t even know it was vegan.
Vegan doesn’t mean tasteless, just means no animal, so you’ll still have plenty of fat and sugar to suit any baked good.
Really ! If you didn’t know it was vegan you’d never taste the difference, and for this reason I hope she doesn’t advertise as vegan because of narrowminded animal eaters
Prdon me Mr President. Homosapiens have only been eating animals for 10000 years. You better talk to some more scientists to see if our enzymes, teeth etc are really best suited for animal-eating.
Congrats Megan, what a wonderful addition to Ballard! Can’t wait to try your goodies.
Excuse me Mr. President. But some people have serious food allergies! Can you say Lactose Intolerance? Celiac Disease? Or perhaps just have a social conscience and don’t believe in eating animals? There are many reasons to eat vegan so don’t be so quick to judge until you walk in another’s shoes. Cheers!
I am not a vegan, but I do really enjoy when something is done right. I always get a vegan peanut butter chocolate chip cookie from PCC and its the best thing ever!!! Best of luck to you!
Simply cannot wait for this! Congrats & welcome to Ballard!