Meet Lara de la Rosa, the owner of Lazy Cow Bakery in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood. Lara started the plant-based Lazy Cow Bakery out of her basement and opened her Fremont brick and mortar in December 2021.
Get to know more about Lara and Lazy Cow Bakery in this Business Spotlight Q&A.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What’s your favorite part about the community your business is in & why?
We are located in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle, where we are proud of the relationships we have built with our community. Each Wednesday night we serve a free vegan dinner. The community dinners serve as an extension of the free fridge and food pantry. This is a wonderful way to get to know other activists and serve communities who do not have access to kitchens. The community dinners are potluck style and we have had incredibly dedicated volunteers that make each one a success. Community is made through our shared purpose, and it inspires us every day!
Why is it important to you and your business that people #SpendLikeItMatters?
Everyone has to eat, and each time we do we have the option of supporting corporations that use that money to harm our communities, or we can spend consciously, to help our communities thrive. At times it’s less convenient or more expensive, but the impact of spending at a small business is huge, especially at Lazy Cow Bakery, where we redirect funds back toward our community programs. And here, we are working to dismantle speciesism by making veganism accessible and delicious, so you can be sure that no one else is being harmed for your morning coffee and pastry.
What’s something your customers may not know about you or your business?
Lazy Cow Bakery is proudly Chicana owned and the proceeds of the bakery go toward a mutual aid group and art center called La Casa del Xoloitzcuintle. Our hope for the cultural center is to give voice to the grievances of marginalized groups as well as provide a space to celebrate them. We want to partner with BIPOC groups that are already doing outreach activity, invite speakers, have documentary and film screenings, have poetry nights, and be a venue space for live performances. Casa del Xolo redirects the profits made at the bakery towards the communities that need it most.