The Mill City Times Interview: Lynn Gordon, Founder and Owner of the French Meadow Bakery & Café
Thursday, April 16, 2020 at 4:39AM
2020 marks the 35th anniversary of the founding of French Meadow Bakery and Café, the first organically-certified and oldest continuously operated organic bakery in the country. We talked to Lynn Gordon, founder and owner, about the beginnings and evolution of the business, her influencers and her plans to continue sharing knowledge of food, health and wellness.
Lynn GordonMCT: French Meadow is featured in the inaugural World edition of Truth, Love and Clean Cutlery, a guide to exemplary organic, sustainable, and ethical restaurants of the world. French Meadow is the only restaurant from Minnesota included in the World edition. What were your thoughts when you heard the news?
LG: I was honored. My sister told me, and it was a very meaningful and fun way to hear the news. I have always cooked with care, purpose and attention to detail. Cooking for others is the highest honor a person can be entrusted with. To be recognized for my approach means a lot to me.
MCT: If you could turn back time, and were 18 again, would you still want to be in the restaurant business?
LG: I think the answer to that is "no.’" My first idea of a career was to be a ballerina. I grew up on the East Side of St. Paul and took the 3A bus three times a week to take ballet classes at the Andahazy School of Classical Ballet on Grand Avenue. This was a big sacrifice for my family. I also thought I would make a good attorney. I was cooking for individuals with cancer in the 1980s. Looking back at that time, I would have chosen a career teaching macrobiotic cooking. I do want to point out that my ‘career’ has not been solely focused on the food industry. For example, I’ve been a travel agent at Dayton’s, a very successful real estate agent, a mother and homemaker, an interior decorator, and I also held the first license for Ralph Lauren Polo in the state of Minnesota. I know how that list sounds – it seems improbable, farfetched and boastful.
However, it’s all true. My top strengths, using the StrengthsFinder tool are Strategic, Achiever, Work, Belief and Education, and I think its spot on accurate for me. I’ve been successful in my many careers! I won a lifetime achievement award from the National Association of Women Business Owners as a serial entrepreneur in 2013. I’m solution-oriented in whatever the field of endeavor. However, I would say this to anyone considering a career in the restaurant business - it will consume your life. Common sense is really important. It is a 24/7 endeavor and you must give 500%. As harsh as this sounds, your family will not get the attention they deserve. Success in the restaurant business is never about luck - it is about working night and day. I am very proud of what we’ve achieved, but this is the truth about the restaurant industry. Of course, if you are starting out and have a large bankroll, my comments do not apply to you.
MCT: Understanding your customers’ needs is the basis of all sales. How do you continue to uncover your customers’ needs?
LG: I listen to customers relentlessly. We have a questionnaire that we distribute with every server-purchase. We keep a detailed spreadsheet of all comments and that has led to many additions and modifications to the menu – keto, gluten free, vegan and organic options; and offering beer, wine and cocktail service. For example, the things customers said were most important to them (from Fall 2019) were full table service, our scratch-made food, menu diversity, and plant/vegan options. I welcome comments from first time or recurring customers. I am also very curious and intuitive. I stay up to date with business news – the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and others – as a way of understanding the restaurant industry and our customers. As a pioneer in the organic food movement, dating back to the late 1970s, I continue to follow leaders in natural foods. We created something out of nothing, but I know that it’s important to stay up to date and to involve the customer in every step. I keep my finger on the pulse of the restaurant industry and my competition.
Lynn with Dr. Andrew Weil at his home in Tucson, 2005MCT: Who influenced you?
LG: When I was young, I can remember my father being a health nut. When I was in my teens he corresponded with the Gerson Institute on the best way to prepare juices and natural foods to help my mother who was dying of ovarian cancer. I started out in food by teaching macrobiotic cooking under the guidance of Mary Wynne at the former Traditional Center for Macrobiotics in St. Paul. I also studied under Michio Kushi in Boston when there were study houses in the Brookline neighborhood, which is a legendary way of learning a macrobiotic practice. Erewhon Markets grew out of these study houses. Early on, in California, French baker Jacques de Langre taught me about naturally leavened breads. Dr. Ann Louise Gittleman, an early pioneer in nutrition, has been a friend for decades. Robert Nissenbaum of Imagine Foods and Frankie Boyer were very important as influencers - and continue to be today. Joseph Dunsmoor, the nation’s first organic farmer, was a friend and influencer. Dr. Barry Sears of the Zone Diet fame was a colleague too. Andrew Lessman, a vitamin and supplement pioneer - we’re talking about future products. Horst Rechelbacher of Aveda fame provided great support and inspiration to me. Dr. Andrew Weil is a very talented friend of mine - he is one of the revolutionaries of alternative medicine. There is a small group of people - spread out geographically and over time - pioneers, who were at the forefront of understanding the links between diet, health, well-being, and the environment. I think that the French Meadow Bakery brought us all together. To fully answer this question and list all my influencers would take more space than would be allowed. I know that I’ve not listed everyone. But, as I’m thinking, I must call out Linda and Peter Quinn of St. Paul’s Café Latte – they provided my first inspiration for scones. I think a podcast or blog on healthy food influencers might be a way for me to document the impact these people and many more had on me and the natural foods movement.
MCT: Aside from healthy living and food, what are you passionate about?
LG: I love baseball. I used to go with my mother and sit in the bleacher seats in the old Bloomington stadium – from the late 50’s to early 60’s. This was the time of Billy Martin, Zoilo Versalles, Tony Oliva and Harmon Killebrew. I still love going to baseball games with my partner, Randy Segal.
Array of French Meadow breads
MCT: You’ve said in other interviews that it is all about the bread. Can you talk about this?
LG: It’s always been about the bread for me. We’ve always served organic, yeast free and unsweetened breads made with a natural leavening process – breads that are very digestible. I first created the breads for my own personal needs. We first baked bread at night in a rented warehouse in Burnsville. I sold bread at farmer’s markets and in natural food stores. I am an expert at slicing, toasting and spreading bread with toppings – I attended every food trade show I could.
I created functional breads – breads that are designed to meet specific dietary needs, I can’t tell you how often I was made fun of by many people in the community. Sprouted Women’s Bread had high protein sources, phytoestrogens, cranberries and soy isoflavones – the bread can relieve menopause symptoms, lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. It was what I needed but was not available anywhere. My Sprouted Men’s Bread had ingredients that can lessen the chance of prostate cancer. The Agricultural Utilization Research Institute’s cereal scientist, Dr. Charon Wadhawan, helped develop the recipes. We even had a bread for diabetics – they could have two slices and it was part of a healthy diet! The diabetic bread was high protein, high fiber and low carb – this was the first bread to offer diabetics what they needed to incorporate bread into their diets. We had a hemp bread – Organic Sprouted Healthy Hemp, the first hemp food product in the United States. The bread was banned in 2002 -the FDA banned hemp from all food and cosmetics because there might be trace amounts of THC. We had a bread for those on the Zone diet. These functional breads saved our business during the heyday of the Atkins Diet craze. The wholesale bakery business was sold in 2008, and unfortunately the buyer phased out those breads.
French Meadow Organic Sourdough Health Seed bread
I am currently working to revive production of the signature functional breads that were sold nationwide. French Meadow has never stopped baking daily the breads served in the restaurant, all of which - like every French Meadow bread since the beginning - are naturally leavened sourdough, organic, and, obviously, vegan. The Lyndale restaurant location also offers full loaves of these breads for sale: Organic Pain au Levain (traditional white sourdough), Organic Seeded Sourdough, and Organic Sourdough Rye. I still care very much about the bread.
MCT: How did the restaurant come about?
LG: I had to be pushed into opening the restaurant. I didn’t think there was a customer base who would come to the Lyndale Avenue location. It was not a safe neighborhood - there were break-ins and a lot of graffiti – a rough and tumble setting. The only businesses there at the time were the CC Club, Rex Hardware the Wedge Co-op. I refused to order a cash register before opening day. I told everyone it was an unnecessary expense - a cigar box would do. My father laid the tiles in the restaurant and I bought used chairs for $2 each and used display cases. We didn’t have the money for more elaborate furnishings, and I didn’t believe the restaurant concept would take off. I was so wrong! We were packed the first day and we had done NO advertising.
French Meadow sconesThe energy and enthusiasm for our products was so evident. Coffee shop owners came by and begged to have our scones and bars for their shops. I was overwhelmed and had to ramp up quickly. We did buy a cash register! And we hired more bakers and staff. So, it came about with reluctance from me, but it took off like a rocket. It’s still going strong. We change with the times. We’ve added table service after 5 PM - people want to be waited on after work. We’ve added wine to the menu. We have relationships with many local food producers - we believe in farm to table - and have since before it was popular.
MCT: What French Meadow Bakery and Café menu items do you most enjoy?
LG: I can’t get enough of our organic french fries with garlic chive aioli. I also like the salmon and eggs benedict and avocado toast with organic poached eggs.
MCT: Fifty years from now, when the food industry looks back nostalgically at the origins of organic bakeries, how would you like to be remembered?
LG: I cared so very much. It was a new paradigm. We were pioneers and changed the eating habits of the world. We made a difference.
French Meadow Bakery & Café on Grand Avenue - Neither snow, nor rain, nor even coronavirus will keep us from safely bringing you your order!
Curbside pickup at 2610 Lyndale Avenue SMCT: What hours are you open during the restaurant shutdown?
LG: 7AM-9PM, Sunday to Thursday; 7AM-10PM Friday and Saturday. Curb-side pickup and delivery is available. We want our customers and employees to be safe during the COVID-19 shutdown. We wear masks, practice social distancing and wash our hands frequently - and before and after each pick up order.
MCT: Anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
LG: Part of our success is derived with our philosophy about the act of cooking. Toiling mindlessly in the kitchen doesn’t work at French Meadow Bakery. How we feel while we’re cooking passes through to the food. The energy of the cook is very important - our line cooks are held in the highest esteem. Everything in the kitchen must be treated with love. We don’t waste food and we respect each other - this leads us to create healthy foods for our customers. Look out for my story to continue.
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About Becky Fillinger
I’ve been a resident of the Mill District only since July 2019, but have visited the Guthrie, the Farmers Market, restaurants and friends in the area for many years prior to making the leap to Minneapolis. I’ve lived in many places (and climates) in the US and can testify that our cultural events, bicycle and hiking trails, parks and green spaces, museums, diverse neighborhoods and wonderful restaurants put Minnesota and Minneapolis high on my best places list. I’m a member of the Mill City Singers and look forward to our choir practices and performances.
One of my main interests is community - a very broad concept. For me it means bringing people together with common interests to form meaningful relationships. I look forward to reporting on businesses and individuals in our neighborhoods. Feel free to drop me an email at becky_fillinger@hotmail.com with your thoughts and ideas for stories.
