Stand and celebrate with the Rise for Equality Box!
As a tribute to the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, we are featuring nine notoriously rad Seattle women-owned businesses in the limited edition Rise for Equality Box. Some of the businesses featured are probably familiar to you, while others will be a delicious new treat!
$5.00 of every one of these boxes sold will be donated to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which is home to the Woman’s Rights Project that Ginsburg co-founded. Together, let us all rise and stand for gender equality.
Cupcake Royale
Cupcake Royale is often known as the first cupcake bakery to open outside of New York City, as well as Seattle’s first cupcake bakery and café. Founded in 2003, the brand has grown with multiple locations throughout the Seattle area and in turn has committed to supporting community efforts, such as annually donating over 40,000 cupcakes to help raise funds for local non-profits. Their cupcakes are all made from scratch daily, and ingredients are sourced from local Washington farmers and producers.
You will find two custom RBG-themed cupcakes (1 chocolate, 1 vanilla) in each Rise for Equality box. Follow Cupcake Royale on Instagram @cupcakeroyale.
Rachel’s Ginger Beer
A favorite stop on the Savor Seattle Booze n’ Bites tour, Rachel’s Ginger Beer is a Seattle destination for the best ginger beer Mules in town. Owner Rachel Marshall was inspired to make ginger beer after a trip to Europe and experiencing the beverage during her travels. Having worked in the food and service industry and owning a bar in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, producing a cocktail using their own house-made mixer seemed like a very smart – and very Seattle – thing to do, and she was right. Her signature Montana Mule become an instant hit, so much so that there was demand for just the mixer to make the drink at home. After success in local farmers markets, Rachel opened Rachel’s Ginger Beer in the Pike Place Market and it’s been mules and smiles ever since.
You will find one Blood Orange and one Guava 12 ounce bottles in each Rise for Equality box. Both flavors are equally tasty as they are bright, citrusy and bubbly. Follow Rachel’s Ginger Beer on Instagram @rgbsoda.
Hot Cakes
One thing is clear – Seattle loves dessert, and when it comes to desserts, Autumn Martin knows a thing or two. Her Business, Hot Cakes, got its start in the local Farmers Markets, selling molten chocolate cake for customers to take and bake at home. Customers loved her chocolate cakes for their deep chocolate taste, warm and gooey center and “cakeiness” on the outside. As popularity and demand for her cakes rose, she was able to open her first dessert restaurant in 2012 in Ballard and a second location on Capitol Hill in 2015. Today you can find their dessert sauces and smoked chocolate chips in specialty and grocery stores across the nation.
In the Rise for Equality box, you will find Hot Cakes’ Pacific Coast Sea Salt Caramel Sauce. It’s the ultimate sauce for dipping, dunking or pouring over your favorite sweet treats! Follow Hot Cakes on Instagram @getyourhotcakes.
Fran’s Chocolate
When Fran Bigelow graduated with a business degree from the University of Washington in 1965, the career outlook for women was somewhat limited. After a move from Seattle to Berkeley and back, Fran settled into life at home raising two children, channeling her drive and focus into her lifelong interest in the culinary arts. That interest soon became a passion. Inspired by a life-changing trip to Paris, Fran opened her first shop, Fran’s Patisserie and Chocolate Specialties, in Seattle’s Madison Valley in 1982. Cakes and pastries were the focus in those early days. As her reputation grew, so did the lines of customers. During the holidays when the wait times were especially long, Fran treated her guests to freshly made chocolate truffles. These truffles became incredibly popular, and over time chocolate confections became her focus.
In the decades since, Fran has built a loyal following around her elegant mastery of chocolate. Recognized as a pioneer of the artisanal chocolate movement, Fran has been named The Best Overall Chocolatier in the United States by The Book of Chocolate, and Outstanding Fine Chocolatier — North America 2009 by the Fine Chocolate Industry Association. In 2018 she was inducted into the Specialty Food Association Hall of Fame.
Fran still finds immense satisfaction in sharing the joy of chocolate with her customers. She can be found daily in our production kitchen creating rich truffles, chocolate – covered fruits and nuts, and her signature salted caramels. This love of chocolate has become a family affair, and Fran’s children now work alongside her. Her daughter, Andrina, is the CEO and her son, Dylan, is the Director of Chocolate.
Confections are handmade at their facility in the Georgetown neighborhood of Seattle. Today they maintain four Seattle-area retail locations — Georgetown, Downtown, University Village, Bellevue — and three international locations in Japan: one outside of Nagoya, in “The Flight of Dreams” at Centrair Airport, and two at Kobe BAL and Kyoto BAL.
Fran’s Dark Drinking Chocolate is included with each Rise of Equality box. Because why eat chocolate when you can drink it?! Follow Fran’s Chocolates on Instagram @franschocolates.
Gourmondo
Alissa Leinonen is an award-winning Founder & CEO of Seattle’s largest and longest running women-owned catering and boxed-lunch company, Gourmondo Co. What began as a simple, four-table lunch haven in Pike Place Market over 24 years ago is now a well-established leader in the Pacific Northwest catering industry.
Since its inception, Leinonen has strategically and thoughtfully expanded her company to offer full-services for social and events catering, a successful Corporate Café division, a retail line of gourmet salad dressings and an in-house bakery. Recently, she has expanded her business to offer a Wholesale Product line, which develops and provides elevated grab-and-go dining options to large and mid-sized companies. She has worked to elevate the box lunch experience to a gourmet level, while building a team of award-winning Chefs that closely curates and caters over 3,000 meals per day.
Leinonen launched Gourmondo Co. with the vision of creating a business that offers high quality, fresh and seasonally grown ingredients from local farmers and purveyors, all the while infusing her deep personal and professional commitment to family and to the importance of giving back to her team and to the community. This philosophy is at the core of Gourmondo’s daily strategy and is incorporated into all aspects of the company. Gourmondo achieves this with generous philanthropic donations and partnerships, family-friendly production schedules, family meals for all employees, opportunities for development within the company, and mentoring at-risk youth to help them thrive.
Leinonen was honored as a Puget Sound Business Journal “40 Under 40” in 2008 and was a proud Women Business Owner Nellie Cashman Award finalist in 2016. In June of 2019, Alissa received the Pacific Northwest EY Entrepreneur of the Year award for the “Unstoppable” category and was named one of America’s Most Inspiring Entrepreneurs on the Inc. 5000 2020 list. Gourmondo was recently awarded the COVID-19 Champion award from the Puget Sound Business Journal for their work providing over 250,000 meals to those in need in the local community. PSBJ has also recognized Gourmondo as one of the top fastest growing companies in the Pacific Northwest for multiple years in a row.
Each Rise for Equality box comes with Gourmondo’s mini spiced apple knishes, a nod to RGB’s Jewish heritage and “spicy” personality! Follow Gourmondo on Instagram at @gourmondoco.
Seattle Chocolate Company
Seattle Chocolate Company began in 1991, creating their signature meltaway truffles and truffle bars in the heart of the Pacific Northwest. When the original factory was destroyed by the Nisqually Earthquake in 2001, entrepreneur and mother Jean Thompson was an investor in the company. Never one to turn down a challenge, Jean stepped up as Owner + CEO of Seattle Chocolate in 2002, learning quickly along the way and creating a fresh new look for the chocolate category. She brought color, whimsy, and a keen eye for marketing to the Seattle Chocolate brand, making them who they are today!
The Rise Box comes with the You’re My Hero Dark Chocolate Truffle Bar. This limited edition chocolate bar was designed in collaboration with artist Libby VanderPloeg, celebrating 100 years of women’s rights to vote. In each bite you will find crunchy toffee pieces and pacific sea salt in dark chocolate. 5% of net profits from this bar go to Mary’s Place, a local housing organization helping those in need. Follow Seattle Chocolate on Instagram @seattlechocolate.
Girl Meets Dirt
After a 10-year career on Wall Street in New York City, Audra moved to Washington’s San Juan Islands with her new husband and two dogs to start a new life together – one much more rooted to the ground. This is where the business Girl Meets Dirt begins. Living in a farmhouse on a one lane Orcas Island road, she began to harvest fresh fruit from the incredible bounty the local trees provided. Soon, she began to pair those fruits with sugar and cook them down in a copper pot, creating delicious, all-natural preserves, jams and creative fruit-based condiments. Audra’s work has been recognized locally and nationally, celebrated as a brand that truly represents the beauty and bounty of the Pacific Northwest.
The Rise for Equality box comes with a jar of Orchard Apricot Jam. Spread on crackers for a mid-day snack or pair with your favorite nut butter for a delightful gourmet sandwich. Follow Girl Meets Dirt on Instagram @girlmeetsdirt.
Cookies with Tiffany
Tiffany Lewis loves cookies. She loved cookies so much that she built a business on them! Cookies with Tiffany is all about the joy of gifting cookies for any occasion and for any reason. “Cookies are like a hug” as it exclaims on their website. Cookie flavors range from classic to whimsical, including their chocolate chip with flaky sea salt to their S’more Cookie, complete with a Hershey chocolate piece in the middle. Tiffany Lewis also has an incredible food blog, The Table Together, if you’d like some foodie inspiration!
Each Rise for Equality box comes with two s’mores cookies. These cookies are soft, gooey and absolutely delicious. Follow Cookies with Tiffany on Instagram @cookieswithtiffany.
Toffee O!
If you have never heard of Toffee O!, you are in for one real treat. It all started when the recipe was given by a dear family friend to Momi Bowles to be shared with the world. Originally called Mom’s Toffee and sold at high school volleyball tournaments and small craft fairs, the toffee was an instant hit! As the jars of soft, decadent toffee rose in popularity, it became apparent that they would need to expand. A small rental kitchen propelled the business into large Christmas shows until they were able to build their very own 650 sq. ft. commercial kitchen in 2016. This kitchen, located in Milton, Washington, is now making more candy than ever each year. Toffee O! can be found locally at the Boeing Employee Stores, Owens Meats, Uptown Koffee Kafe, Branches Garden Center, at Seasonal Shows, and online.
Each Rise with Equality box comes with a package of Gourmet Vanilla Bean Toffee Popcorn. Try not to eat it all at once! Follow Toffee O! on Instagram @toffeeo.sogood.
