Anacortes family-owned café named 2024 SBA Seattle District Rural Small Business of the Year

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) 2024 Seattle District Rural Small Business of the Year is Good Bagels Café in Anacortes.

Brothers Alex LaLonde and Nick LaLonde founded Good Bagels in 2020, sourcing local ingredients to produce handcrafted bagels for sale at area events and festivals. In 2023, the co-owners opened the doors to their first brick-and-mortar café, creating jobs for full-time staff and a place for local community to gather over a menu of bagels, sandwiches, pastries and coffee.

“The LaLonde brothers saw an opportunity to bring one of their favorite foods to their small town. With support from their Small Business Development Center advisor, they were able to both grow their business and support other local food suppliers in the area. That is among the reasons why they are being honored as the Rural Business of the Year,” SBA Seattle District Director Melanie Norton said. “During National Small Business Week, we shine a light on the contributions small businesses like theirs make to our economy and to our communities.”

The SBA Seattle District Rural Small Business of the Year award – part of National Small Business Week April 28 - May 4, 2024 – recognizes small business owners in rural areas who demonstrate staying power and substantiated history as an established business with at least three years of business operation. Winners must also show growth in net worth and business expansion, increase in jobs and sales, innovativeness of products or services, response to adversity, and contributions to community-oriented projects.

“Winning this award is both exciting and validating,” co-owner Nick said. “We have put a great deal of work into this, and we know there is more work ahead as we plan the next steps. This gives us the added confidence that we are moving in the right direction.”

Alex and Nick were relatively new to the Pacific Northwest when the idea to start their business originated. Having found a new home in Anacortes, the brothers were inspired to combine their culinary and entrepreneurial experience to fill the need of a hometown bagel shop, something they share fond memories of from their roots in upstate New York.

Alex, already an entrepreneur operating an Anacortes-based outdoor recreation company, brought the idea to Nick who has extensive experience as a chef in fine dining establishments. Together, they tested recipes for family and friends out of their home kitchen before renting commercial kitchen space to expand production. As their popularity grew, they purchased a food truck to reach more customers at local farmers markets, and community events, but the ultimate goal of establishing a physical location seemed still out of reach.

“Aside from the financial commitment to open our own location, one of the biggest challenges was having confidence in the idea,” Alex said. “Opening a business was intimidating and we both had a lot of questions. I heard from friends of ours that they were working on their business plan with an advisor at the SBDC, so we reached out.”

The Washington Small Business Development Center (SBDC), a part of the SBA Resource Partner Network, is a network of more than 40 advisors in more than two dozen communities across the state working to help owners and entrepreneurs who want to start, grow, or buy/sell a business. SBDC advisors provide one-on-one, confidential, no-cost advising on all phases of small business development and offer no-cost or low-cost workshops on a variety of business topics and customized market research services.

EDASC was there at the beginning of the LaLondes’ venture, offering ideas and advice as well as providing an introduction to SBDC Advisor Kristina Hines.

With Hines’ help, Alex and Nick were able to formulate the business plans, financial projections and strategies needed to take the next step.

“Kristina is someone who has always been in our corner,” Nick said. “She has been extremely supportive of our concept, always understood it, and has been helpful to steer us in the right direction.”

Since opening their first physical location, Alex and Nick have transformed their company from a two-person project to a full-time business that supports an additional team of three year-round employees. While the café enjoys the support of the Anacortes community, the brothers are giving back by supporting local school programs, athletic teams and community events.

“While our business’s success is important to us, we know we cannot succeed without supporting those who support us, and we strive to be productive members of our community.” Alex said. “Looking forward, we remain committed to keeping things local and authentic, while dreaming of expanding our business to small towns throughout the region.”