Category Archives: Uncategorized

Meet our Family: Elizabeth (Lizz) Krhounek

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After seven plus years at McGraw, Lizz is taking her show on the road in her new position as our Assistant Retail Operations Manager.

If you’ve been to our McGraw café on Queen Anne, chances are you know Lizz. Since 2013, she ran our McGraw café. Efficient and gregarious, Lizz charmed customers, trained new employees, and kept the busy café running smoothly. Over the summer of 2021, we promoted her to Assistant Retail Operations Manager.

In her new role, she will float between all five of our cafés, supporting Crystal Kitchin, our Retail Operations Manager. Lizz will help train employees, support managers, improve consistency between cafés, and fill scheduling gaps. Most comfortable behind the counter, Lizz will frequently be found in one of the cafés helping customers find what they’re looking for when she’s not updating our training manuals or teaching new employees the craft of making great coffee drinks.

Asked how it feels to leave McGraw, her workplace for the last seven and half years, Lizz says, “It’s not as hard as I thought it would be. I definitely miss the regulars and all the crew there, but I’m enjoying getting to know the customers and crew at other stores. I’m having fun.”

With new challenges on the horizon, Lizz is excited to develop new skills. “My biggest challenge right now is learning how to best support the café GMs to help them execute their vision for the store,” Lizz says.

When she’s not working, Lizz spends a lot of time planning her next big adventure. Every year (pandemic aside), she takes an epic trip. In 2020, just before the world shut down, she spent two weeks in New Zealand—and sneaked in a St. Patrick’s Day pub crawl in Hawaii on the trip back to Seattle. When travel is safe again, Lizz is planning a big trip to Ireland.

Lizz’s favorite part of working for Macrina is the holiday season, our busiest time of year. She says, “Being in one of the cafés at 2:30 a.m. in my pajamas and listening to music while we get all the Thanksgiving and Christmas orders ready is really fun.”

Pecan Sticky Buns

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There may be no better breakfast pastry than these pillowy sticky buns made with a yeast dough enriched with butter, eggs and milk. Caramel and pecans blanket the top, and deep swirls of caramel and cinnamon sugar enliven every bite. Serve them warm and they’re irresistible.


Makes 6 sticky buns

STICKY BUN DOUGH
¼ cup water, warm
8 Tbsp sugar, divided
1½ tsp dried yeast
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 eggs
½ cups whole milk
3¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick), room temperature, cut into cubes

CARAMEL GLAZE
½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
1 cup brown sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp orange zest
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
½ cup heavy cream

CINNAMON SUGAR
¾ cups brown sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon

ASSEMBLY
1¼ cups roasted pecan pieces


STICKY BUN DOUGH
In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the warm water, 2 Tbsp sugar and yeast. Whisk until the yeast is dissolved. Let rest for 5 minutes to allow the yeast to bloom.

Add the remaining sugar, vanilla, eggs, milk, flour and salt. Using a paddle attachment, mix on low speed for 3 minutes to bring the dough together. Switch to a dough hook, set speed to medium and add the cubes of butter one at a time. Mix for 10 minutes. The dough should be wet and sticky with good elasticity when stretched.

Pull the dough from the bowl and set on a floured work surface. Shape the dough into a ball and place it in an oiled medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours, or until the dough has doubled in size.

CARAMEL GLAZE
In a medium saucepan set over low heat, add the butter, brown sugar and salt. As the butter melts, whisk the mixture into a sauce and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the orange zest, vanilla and heavy cream. Continue to cook for another 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

CINNAMON SUGAR
Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together. Set aside.

ASSEMBLY
Brush a 9-inch cake pan with canola oil and line the base and sides with an 11-inch square piece of parchment paper (the corners will extend above the pan).

Pour ¼ cup of the Caramel Glaze into the base of the pan. Let cool to room temperature.

Add the pecan pieces to the remaining Caramel Glaze and set aside for later.

Set the proofed brioche dough on a floured work surface. Shape the dough into a 15-inch x 6-inch rectangle. Press on the flattened dough to release any trapped air bubbles. Sprinkle the dough with the Cinnamon Sugar to cover liberally. With the broad side of the rectangle facing you, roll the dough from the far side towards you creating a spiral. Gently roll it back and forth to achieve a consistent thickness. Rest the roll seam side down.

Using a sharp knife, cut the roll into 6 equal pieces. Carefully place each roll cut side down onto the Caramel Glaze in the pan.

Let rise for 1 hour at room temperature. Preheat oven to 375°F.

Place the cake pan on a rimmed baking sheet (to catch any spills that bubble over) and place the baking sheet on the center rack of the oven. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, or until the buns are golden brown in color.

Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Loosen the buns from the pan by pulling on the extended parchment corners. If some areas stick, run a knife along the pan’s perimeter. Place a dinner plate face-down over the cake pan and invert. Gently lift the pan and remove the parchment. Keep the rolls inverted.

Warm the remaining Caramel Glaze with pecans and spoon it over the top of the rolls, allowing it to drizzle down the sides slightly. Let cool for 30 minutes.

Serve the sticky buns warm for breakfast, or if you’re feeling decadent, add some ice cream and turn them into a dessert!

For the Love of Italy: A Favorite Sandwich

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By Matt Galvin

Certain beloved foods trigger memories, transporting us through time and space to a special moment. For me, one of those foods is a mortadella and fresh mozzarella sandwich on focaccia. Like so much Italian food, its beauty lies in quality ingredients and simplicity. The freshly baked focaccia must be golden brown, flavorful and tender with a toothy crust, the mortadella thinly sliced and artfully layered and the fresh mozzarella creamy.

My first taste of this sandwich was in Florence during a college semester abroad. The bakery had a wood-burning oven, and the baker would brush the dough with olive oil and saltwater. With a long flat peel, he’d place the floury dough into the oven, and about 20 minutes later a golden slab of steaming focaccia about four feet long would emerge from the oven. A piece of that savory bread layered with mortadella, fresh mozzarella, was, and still is, a perfect sandwich.

After college, I returned to Italy to teach history and got to know the specialties of different regions. Still, for a quick lunch, nothing surpassed my favorite Florentine sandwich, except maybe a version I had in Rome at the famed bakery Antico Forno Roscioli.

Years later, on return visits to Rome, I always headed to Antico Forno Roscioli for my favorite sandwich. I’d take it to Piazza Navona and find a spot to perch amid the fountains and take in the scene, a sentimental visit that always brought similar memories of times past flooding into the present.

This year, my daughter, Gracie, is spending a semester abroad in Florence. Recently, my wife, Michelle, and I visited her and took her to Rome for a weekend. Guess where we grabbed lunch? En route to Antico Forno Roscioli, we wandered through Campo di Fiori. Then with sandwiches in hand, we strolled over to Piazza Navona. Sitting there, I discovered something better than enjoying your favorite sandwich in a perfect setting—watching your daughter do the same thing for the first time!

Some might say, location, location, location, and they’re not wrong—go if you can. In the meanwhile, enjoy Macrina’s version of my favorite sandwich. It’s served on an Italian-style golden brown focaccia, made fresh every morning and topped with a light sprinkle of rosemary and cherry tomatoes, layered with thinly sliced mortadella and creamy fresh mozzarella. If you close your eyes and use your imagination, the patter of rain outside might just be the fountain splash of Bernini’s Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi. 

Macrina for the Holidays 

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De-stress your holiday gatherings by letting Macrina handle the baking. Whether it’s a holiday dinner or brunch, appetizers or desserts, we’ve got you covered. 

Great food and holidays go hand-in-hand. So does stress. You want fresh handmade baked goods, but don’t have time to do all the baking, cleaning, organizing, and decorating. For over twenty years, we’ve helped people gather around the table for fun, memorable meals. Whether it’s a holiday dinner, a festive brunch, appetizers, or desserts, we’ve got beautiful, great tasting items that will please your guests. We make it easy to serve a perfect meal and still have plenty of time to spend with family and friends.

Holiday Dinners 

Holiday Porcini Stuffing Mix, Roll Trays (Porcini Harvest, Buttermilk, Rustic Potato), Raisin Pumpernickel Loaf

Brunch 

Winter Pear Crown, Holiday Quiche, Holiday Brie, Cinnamon Roll Tray, Pecan Sticky Buns, Mini Squash Harvest Loaf, Pumpkin Muffin, Cranberry Apricot Nut Loaf, Panettone, Chocolate Pecan Babka

Appetizers 

Crostini, Holiday Brie, Smoked Trout Spread, Roasted Artichoke Spread, Fig and Olive Tapenade, Sweet and Spicy Nuts

Desserts 

Maple Apple Pie, Pumpkin Pie, Pecan Streusel Pumpkin Pie, Brandied Orange Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Cheesecake, Eggnog Cheesecake, Mini Gingerbread Spice Cup, Brown Sugar Shortbread, Chocolate Yule Log, Gingerbread Cookies, German Chocolate Cake, Mocha Almond Torte, Mini Chocolate Peppermint Mousse Cake

Order online for pick-up at one of our cafes! Orders must be placed by noon, two days in advance. Pickup available at the café of your choice.

Saying Thank You With Pie

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Nancy LaVallee gives away about 100 pies every Thanksgiving 

On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, on First Avenue in Seattle’s Sodo neighborhood,  Nancy LaVallee stuffs her car with more pies than might seem prudent. She manages to pack in about 50 and a friend piles the rest in her car. They caravan slowly back to Nancy’s Mercer Island home to prepare some hot apple cider and await their guests. Fortunately, there’s never been a fender bender on the way home, which could be messy.

Nancy is a Mercer Island-based real estate agent for Windermere who sells homes all over the city. She started the great Thanksgiving pie giveaway eight years ago. The pies are for her neighbors and clients.

“It’s a big day for me,” says Nancy. “Clients from all over the greater Seattle area come to my home for the pie pickup,” says Nancy. “It’s so fun to see everyone, and to be able to thank them for their support. Everyone loves the pies, and it means they don’t have to bake as much, which helps since everyone is busy over the holidays.”

Before settling on Macrina as her pie baker of choice, Nancy went to eight different bakeries and sampled pies. Some years, she’s gotten pumpkin from one bakery, apple from another. But eventually she settled on Macrina. “Eight years ago, I started out with a small order, but it’s grown,” Nancy says. “Macrina can handle a hundred pies. Not everyone can handle that volume two days before Thanksgiving.”

Nancy is especially fond of Macrina’s Maple Apple Pie. “I call it the high pie apple pie,” says Nancy. “It’s meaty. It’s got a lot of apples. And it lasts. I get my pies early. It tastes great two days later, maybe even better. It’s a great tasting pie.”

Nancy enjoys the ritual of picking up the big order at our Sodo location. “A baker comes out to say hello and they help me load up, which is charming,” says Nancy. “It’s nice to be able to say thank you.”

In 2020, Nancy put a little note in with the pies saying she was collecting non-perishable food items for Leschi Elementary School families in need. “We had over 45 bags of food to donate last year,” says Nancy. “It was quite overwhelming.”

This year she’s doing it again.

We’re grateful!

 

 

 Apple, Pear & Cranberry Crisp with Almond Streusel Topping

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A good go-to crisp recipe can be a savior when company is coming and you’re short on time, or on cool fall evenings when you need a comforting treat. This dessert comes together quickly and you can substitute a variety of fruits. You may want to adjust the amount of sugar and lemon juice to suit your preferences. This time of year, we love this combination of apples, pears and cranberries. Cranberries add festive color and their tartness pair well with sweet apples. We have a bounty of pears and apples in the Pacific Northwest, and for or this recipe, you can choose your favorites or use what’s available at your local market. The recipe calls for Granny Smith’s and Bartlett pears, but Braeburn, Gala and Honeycrisp apples all work well, as do D’Anjou and Comice pears. When it comes to toppings, whipped cream is always suitable, but vanilla ice cream is even better. Enjoy!

Makes one 9-inch square crisp

FILLING

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced into ½-inch wedges
2 Bartlett pears, peeled, cored and sliced into ½-inch wedges
2 cups fresh cranberries
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
½ cup whole almonds, coarsely chopped
¾ cup sugar
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 tsp cinnamon, ground
¼ tsp nutmeg, ground
¼ tsp cloves, ground
¼ cup cornstarch

ALMOND STREUSEL TOPPING

¾ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
½ cup thick-cut rolled oats
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup whole almonds, coarsely chopped
½ tsp almond extract
½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick), chilled and cut into ½-inch cubes


FILLING

Position a rack in the center of an oven and preheat to 375°F. Lightly brush a 9-inch square ceramic or glass baking dish with canola oil and place it on a rimmed sheet pan. Set aside.

Place the apples, pears, cranberries, lemon juice and almonds in a medium bowl. Toss to combine well.

In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and cornstarch. Add to the fruit and toss to combine. Pour the fruit mixture into the prepared baking dish.

ALMOND STREUSEL TOPPING

In a stand mixer bowl, add the flour, oats, sugar, almonds and almond extract. With the paddle attachment, combine on slow speed for 1 minute. Add the cubed butter and mix on slow for another 2 to 3 minutes to create a crumbly texture.

Top the filling with the almond streusel and bake for 60 to 70 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the thickened filling is bubbling around the edges. Let cool for 30 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream or your favorite vanilla ice cream.

The Woodmark: A Lakeside Hotel with Great Dining Options

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On the eastern shore of Lake Washington, at the site of what was once a shipyard, an independent, boutique hotel tempts visitors and locals alike. Every half hour, dockside carillon bells ring out their welcome to gulls and boaters alike. Out of town visitors come for a room with a view and all the luxurious hotel amenities, but many Seattle-area residents flock to The Woodmark for food, spa services, and weddings.

Two waterfront restaurants, Carillon Kitchen and Beach Café offer diners fresh, organic, local foods with a backdrop of Lake Washington and, in the distance, the Olympic Mountains. Executive Chef Brian Doherty, formerly of the Fairmont Olympic and The Four Seasons Seattle, oversees both locations. For twelve years, Doherty’s responsibilities included catering events in the Spanish Ballroom, pretty much the gold standard for private events.

Carillon Kitchen is a chef-driven, community-oriented restaurant offering mouth-watering healthy options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. “Our goal is to make sure everything is fresh and that we’re producing the highest quality product that we can,” says Doherty. “We partnered with Macrina and Olympia Provisions and came up with a beautiful menu.” Other local highlights include Fonté coffee, Beecher’s Handmade Cheese, and Ellenos Yogurt. When Covid-19 shut down other dining options at the hotel, Carillon Kitchen’s grab-and-go concept soared. Locals come in for readily available snacks and meals or order ahead for pickup. Hotel guests enjoy high-quality foods they can eat in their room or take to the beach. Carillon Kitchen is currently open daily for limited dining and takeout from 7:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M.

Beach Café is a casual dining waterfront restaurant with an innovative, seasonally influenced menu featuring daily seafood specials and signature dishes. “It’s a seafood-driven menu focusing on fresh, local ingredients in a beautiful setting,” says Doherty. The lakeside patio fills up fast in good weather, but many interior tables also offer water views. While specials usually feature fresh catch straight from the docks, signature dishes like the Smoked Akaushi New York Strip or Roasted Rack of Lamb will tempt meat lovers. Currently, the restaurant is open Wednesday to Saturday from 5 P.M. to 9 P.M. Doherty aims to be fully open by the end of the year.

The Woodmark is also one of the top destinations in the state for weddings. Doherty, who has earned the chops to produce high-quality meals for large events, oversees the catering department. “The Banquet Department has taken off,” says Doherty. “We’re booked up almost to the end of the year of Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Five to six weddings a weekend. It’s a beautiful venue.”

Just fifteen minutes from downtown Seattle, Beach Café and Carillon Kitchen are waterfront dining options for anyone who loves excellent food in an idyllic PNW setting. Whether you’re interested in grabbing a casual lunch to eat by the beach or looking to linger over an elegant meal with a sunset view, head to Carillon Point in Kirkland and check out The Woodmark.

Italian Cream Cake

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This Italian Cream Cake has three light, buttery sponge cake rounds layered with vanilla pastry cream and conserve and is frosted with sweetened whipped cream. Choose your favorite jam or conserve. Raspberry and blackberry are two of our favorites. You’ll enjoy this cake the first day, but don’t feel like you need to finish it—it’s even better the second day as the sponge cake moistens absorbing the pastry cream and conserve. Keep the cake refrigerated and it’ll keep for up to five days.

INGREDIENTS

Makes one 9-inch cake

SPONGE CAKE
1⅓ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
6 Tbsp (¾ stick) unsalted butter
⅓ cup water
1½ cups sugar, divided
3 eggs, beaten
3½ tsp pure vanilla extract, divided
1 cup favorite jam or fruit conserve
1½ cups heavy cream
1 Tbsp powdered sugar

PASTRY CREAM
4 eggs
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 Tbsp cornstarch
½ cup + 1 Tbsp sugar
1½ cups milk

DIRECTIONS:

SPONGE CAKE
Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush a 9-inch cake pan with oil and line the base with a custom-cut circle of parchment paper. Dust the oiled sides of the pan with flour. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Add the water, mix, and let cool.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, add 1¼ cups sugar. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the eggs and 2 tsp vanilla. Whisk at high speed for 5 minutes. The mixture will be light in color and frothy.

Remove the bowl from the mixer. Using a spatula, fold in the flour mixture in 4 additions. With the last addition, add the butter mixture and stir until just combined, ensuring there are no lumps.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake on the center rack for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for 30 minutes. Run a paring knife around the edge of the cake. Invert the pan to remove the sponge cake. Let cool to room temperature.

PASTRY CREAM
In a medium bowl, crack the eggs and whisk together with the vanilla, cornstarch and sugar. Ensure no lumps remain.

In a medium saucepan, scald the milk (bringing it just to a boil). Remove it from the heat and slowly ladle the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Transfer the egg mixture back to the saucepan when you have three-quarters of the milk whisked into it. Over medium-low heat, whisk the mixture to prevent it from sticking or curdling. When the mixture has thickened to a pudding-like consistency, pour it into a clean bowl. Cover the top of the pastry cream with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Note: If you spot any lumps in the pastry cream, strain it through a fine-mesh sieve before cooling it.

ASSEMBLY
Using a serrated knife, cut the cake horizontally into 3 equal layers.

Place the bottom layer on a prepared cake board or plate. Spread the conserves over the first layer. Top with the second layer. Spread the chilled pastry cream to the edges. Top with the remaining layer and gently align the edges. Refrigerate the cake for 15 minutes to firm it up.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the heavy cream, remaining 1½ tsp vanilla and remaining ¼cup sugar. Whip to medium-firm peaks.

Cover the top and sides of the cake with the sweetened whipped cream. Use a wet spatula to smooth it out. Garnish the top of the cake with a dusting of powdered sugar and fresh berries if you’d like.

Enjoy!

Going (and Staying) Viral: Market’s Lobster Roll is the Hottest Sandwich Sensation in Town

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The Edmonds Fishmonger and Eatery just opened an outpost in the Seattle Art Museum. 

Last October, amid the pandemic and the election swirl, Market, Edmond’s revered Fishmonger and Eatery, introduced their warm Lobster Roll (Connecticut Style). At $29 per sandwich, it seemed destined to be a niche item behind mainstays like their more modestly priced Fish & Chips, Market Fish Tacos, or Crab in a Bag. Then people began lining up—by the hundreds.

What’s maybe craziest about the sensation is that nearly a year later the craze hasn’t abated. The hole-in-the-wall fishmonger still sells hundreds of lobster and crab rolls every week.

Chef Hans Korompis, raised in Singapore and trained at several fine restaurants, including TanakaSan, a Tom Douglas restaurant, says, “We caught wind when we introduced the warm lobster roll. That’s when it got crazy.”

With lobster being flown in daily by Inland Lobster, located in Portland, Maine, it wasn’t easy keeping up with demand. “We would run out in the beginning, and we had to eighty-six the sandwich,” says Hans. “But now we know about how much we need for each day.”

Having consistent demand on both weekends and weekdays makes that much easier. There are fluctuations, like the Tik-Tok video last March that amassed over 200,000 views, or the post to Seattle Foodies on Facebook with its 26,000 members. But for the most part, demand spiked and never subsided.

Market’s lobster rolls are served two ways, cold (Maine) or warm (Connecticut). The essential ingredient, in both cases, is a healthy portion of really fresh lobster, including both claw and tail meat. The roll is Macrina’s Brioche Roll, brushed with house aioli and crisped. The warm version features lobster warmed in garlic butter, Old Bay Seasoning, and fresh chives. The cold version has a cold lobster salad with brown butter topped with chopped celery, gherkins, and Old Bay Seasoning. Both are served with fries and housemade tartar sauce.

The Dungeness Crab Roll, also $29, is nearly as popular as the lobster rolls. Local Dungeness crab meat is tossed in brown butter and served on a crisped Macrina Brioche Roll and sprinkled Old Bay Seasoning and chives.

Market’s Fish & Chips may not be the item everyone is talking about right now, but they’re worth seeking out. Local rockfish is beer-battered and served perfectly crisped and not at all soggy with oil. They’re served with fries, lemon, housemade tartar and minty mushy peas. “We make them the traditional British way on that fish,” says Hans. “They’ve been doing it for a long time. We respect that, and it makes sense.”

Seattle-based seafood lovers can now skip the drive north and head to their new outpost in the Seattle Art Museum. Located in the space formerly occupied by Taste, Market Seattle serves a very similar menu but has added banh mi served on Macrina’s Bui Buns, and Macrina pastries, among a few other new offerings. There is also a full bar featuring both draft beer and wine. The restaurant seats approximately 60 people.

Market is part of the Feedme Hospitality and Restaurant Group that includes, among others, the celebrated Edmonds restaurants Salt & Iron, Fire & the Feast, Bar Dojo, and SanKai Sushi. In addition to the restaurant, Market Seattle provides catering services at the downtown museum, the Olympic Sculpture Park and the Asian Art Museum.

Macrina in the Community

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St. Macrina, our patron saint, was known for working to improve the quality of life for people in her community, and we strive to do the same. On our first Thanksgiving, back in 1993, Leslie brought some extra loaves to the Noel House, which was located in a nearby alley. “The ladies there were so appreciative of the fresh baked bread it brought me to tears,” says Leslie. Our mantra became that of St. Macrina.

We enrich our communities through the joy of artisan baking, but we also donate directly to non-profit organizations that do outstanding work supporting members of our community. Our employees frequently join us in donating, and we match each of their donations.

As part of our celebration of Juneteenth, we donated $2,500 (including matched donations from employees) to Community Passageways. In September, we are donating $2,000–$3,000 to three additional local community organizations including: Helping Link, Plymouth Housing, and St. James Cathedral Kitchen. Here’s a bit more about these incredible organizations:

Community Passageways

This community-based, black-run, black-owned organization was founded in 2015 by Dominique (Dom) Davis. They work primarily with court-involved young people of color and help break the school-to-prison cycle with a school-to-life pathway by restoring lives, nurturing dreams, and developing life skills. In the last five years, Dom and his team have helped divert over 120 years of prison sentences.

Helping Link

Since its founding in 1993, Helping Link has supported our local Vietnamese community with free services and programs such as citizenship classes, a computer lab, English classes, and much more. They help foster cultural resilience and empower members to celebrate their histories and traditions.

Plymouth Housing

Since 1980, Plymouth Housing has helped Seattle break the cycle of chronic homelessness by providing adults experiencing homelessness with opportunities to stabilize and improve their lives. Plymouth follows the “Housing First” philosophy, operating on the principle that people cannot improve their lives until they have a safe, stable place to live. Plymouth owns and operates 14 buildings, both renovated historic properties and new construction, from South Lake Union to the International District. In the coming years, Plymouth plans to build an additional 800 apartments.

St. James Cathedral Kitchen

The Cathedral Kitchen feeds a nourishing, hot meal to 150 guests on Seattle’s First Hill every weekday. They serve anyone in need, regardless of age, gender, or creed. Throughout the pandemic, out of concern for their guests, they switched to to-go dinners and a bagged lunch their guests could eat the next day while still providing a limited number of physically-distanced tables for those needing a moment of shelter.

In addition, Macrina donates thousands of pounds of bread and pastries to local organizations that help feed those in need, including The Salvation Army, Alma Mater in Tacoma, El Centro de la Raza. Over the next few weeks, we’re also donating over 300 meals to Helping Link and St. James for fundraising events.

“Donating to these organizations is just one way Macrina supports our communities and works to better achieve our mission,” says Scott France, Macrina’s President.