A few streets away from Maple Elementary and Cleveland High sits the Flora Bakehouse, which, since opening in 2021, has transformed into a Queer community hub in the Beacon Hill neighborhood, filled with mouthwatering delicacies. In addition to crafting decadent pastries, the shop has placed an emphasis on fundraisers and events.
Having worked in the restaurant business since high school, Nat Stratton-Clarke moved to Seattle and became the general manager of Café Flora, and when the owner retired in 2008, they bought the business, placing their own twist and expansion on it. Stratton-Clarke told the SGN that as a Transgender store owner, they’ve incorporated their values and beliefs as a Queer person into it to foster a safe and accepting environment.
“Food for me has been a passion my whole life,” Stratton-Clarke said. “Food is social justice. We can do social justice work and intertwine that with food and restaurants in so many different ways.”
Since opening, Flora Bakehouse has fundraised for schools and local organizations that uplift Trans and Queer people, like the GSBA Scholarship Program, which supports Queer students through higher education. Another event raised money for high school proms.
This June, the Bakehouse is bringing back its annual Pride cake, and 100% of the proceeds will be donated to the Trans Justice Funding Project, a community-run group that helps fund Transgender-led organizations across the country, and which Stratton-Clarke has personally supported for a long time, they said.
Queer markets at Flora Bakehouse in August and September are conducted through a partnership with the Fruits and Veggies Collective, a group of Queer farmers from the Snoqualmie and Sammamish Valleys. The bakehouse purchases produce from the collective, and invites farmers to set up stands on the building’s roof.
For more information visit https://florarestaurantgroup.com/restaurant/the-flora-bakehouse-seattle.
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