insiderseattle
Gourmondo Co. owner and founder Alissa Leinonen has announced the opening of their newest café, located in the Omeros building on lower Queen Anne. The café is a new direction for Gourmondo, going beyond their existing successful box lunch, event catering division, and corporate cafes – but maintains what they are known for with a selection of fan favorites and fresh local ingredients. Their variety of partnerships for the cafe include baguettes delivered daily from Le Panier bakery, custom spice blends from World Spice Merchants, artisan pastas from Lagana Foods, and fresh WA-grown produce from farmers across the state.
The open and airy space seats 45 along with outdoor patio seating. The space features large windows with street views, a pool table, TV’s, and areas designed for networking and lounging. The menu includes Gourmondo favorites such as pressed sandwiches, rotating salads, seasonal entrees, and a large happy hour menu for enjoying inside or taking to go. The café also houses a grab and go market with retail items and local snack favorites.
“We are very excited about our new café on Elliott Avenue. It is one of our few locations that is open to the public and we consider it to be a compilation of our greatest hits,” said Leinonen. “It’s a combination of gourmet grab and go, full-service coffee house, unique micro-market with a robust line-up of local and artisan products, in a setting of classic café seating with comfortable lounge areas. We’re also excited to be offering a fun happy hour featuring a variety of great beer and wine. The café has a unique community feel with a game area and flexible spaces for a meeting over lunch.”
Leinonen opened Gourmondo as a 470 square-foot cafe in Pike Place Market in 1996 and has grown the business to be Seattle’s largest and longest running woman-owned, full-service catering and gourmet box lunch Company. A leader in the PNW catering industry, Gourmondo is a bustling operation of talented chefs and an exceptional team of nearly 300 people bringing authenticity and creativity with every meal that is prepared. Leinonen launched Gourmondo with the vision of creating a business that offered high-quality, fresh, local ingredients from the best purveyors while infusing her deep personal and professional commitment to family and to the importance of giving back to her employees and to the community.
Gourmondo Café is located at 201 Elliott Ave W, Seattle, WA 98119. The restaurant is open daily Monday and Tuesday from 7:30am – 4:00pm, and Wednesday – Friday 7:30am – 5:30pm.