Meet Naomie and Miles Ztanberry, owners of Moon Village Bakery in Seattle’s Skyway neighborhood.
Moon Village Bakery is a sustainably operated artisan bakery in South Seattle crafting all-natural bread, donuts, cakes, and more. To curb over-baking and waste, they encourage pre-orders and offer a unique bread subscription with ever-changing flavors and styles.
Learn more about Moon Village Bakery in this week’s 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 Skyway’s only bakery! When we first moved up here, we received a very warm welcome from community leaders and neighbors. People are still discovering that we’re here, so we get folks coming in excited that they can get their sweet tooth fed without having to go down the hill.
Our favorite part of the day is seeing our pick-up bread subscribers and having little conversations with them. Our favorite customers are the ones that keep coming back!
What’s something your customers may not know about you or your business?
We try to be as sustainable as possible, which is why we like to have the pre-order forms. That means we make exactly what we need to, when we need to. Our storefront is more like a “showroom” of what we can do (though we can make pretty much anything you request), and a pick-up spot for pre-orders.
There have been a few people that came in expecting a filled-to-the-brim pastry case, or a wall of bread, but we are just two humble bakers with a toddler. We do our best to satisfy our customers needs. Our bread is ready for pick up or delivery around 2pm, so you can have fresh bread for dinner!
Why is it important to you and your business that people #SpendLikeItMatters?
Spending money at small and diverse businesses helps build local economies and bring wealth to our communities. This allows people to follow their passions and to create new and innovative products. It also helps businesses thrive in neighborhoods and bring to neighborhoods businesses that wouldn’t otherwise be there helping them to reduce the amount of travel they need to make in order to get their necessities.
A lot of the time small businesses make products that are fresher, handcrafted, and produced locally. Which means you can also lower your carbon footprint. Overall, it benefits the community and brings more variety and diversity to the economy.
As a business owner, what’s the strangest or craziest idea you’ve ever tried?
Everything about Moon Village Bakery is crazy and out of the box! We have a monthly bread subscription service where we change the flavor and type of bread every week.
We also have scones, cookies, and other pastries like donuts that change weekly as well. You never know what to expect! Have you ever had Basmati rice and fried curry leaf in a bread? Or a delicately flavored Rose donut colored with blue pea flowers? You can try it here at Moon Village Bakery!
What are some of your favorite local businesses and why?
Bob’s Quality Meats– My (Naomie) first job! I really owe it to my boss for teaching me so much about small businesses and helping me with my customer service skills. The meat is always quality, and the employees are very helpful. This is place is the definition of small family business, and I aspire to be like them.
My’s Vietnamese Sandwiches and Deli- The best place to get a Banh mi! Friendly people, and yummy food.
Sierra Fish and Pet- A classic pet store with a wide selection of pet food. They treat the animals with care and are very knowledgeable about everything they sell.