Seattle native Tiffany Lewis considers Mercer Island her second home.
It’s all about community, connectivity and cookies when she sets up shop at the Mercer Island Farmers Market. Each Sunday during this year’s market, Lewis bonded with the locals while selling out her array of treats. At the Nov. 21 Harvest Market, eager customers formed a solid line at Lewis’ booth from 10 a.m. to about 1 p.m. By day’s end at 3 p.m., Islanders toted home all 450 of her cookies.
“It was like, ‘OK, we’ve got a sweet tooth today,’” said the Cookies with Tiffany owner a day later. She offers seasonal cookies, a signature line and gluten free and dairy free items. She’s got all the flavor bases covered with maple, lemon, flaky sea salt, peanut butter, chocolate crinkle and more.
Lewis’ business — which she launched after losing her job with a culinary company due to the pandemic — is focused on uniting people through cookies. She’s elated to see that mission spring to life on Mercer Island.
Baking cookies was one of the entrepreneur’s happiest childhood memories and Mercer Island was the place where she wanted to begin her new journey as an adult.
“Mercer Island definitely has a special place in our business, because it’s the very first market where we were able to come out and connect with customers,” said Lewis, who counts many Islanders and Mercer Island High School graduates amongst her circle of friends. She has always been attracted to the Island’s family vibe and the downtown area near Mercerdale Park.
“I think what makes that area special for me is just that the community is a very tight-knit community. I’ve noticed a lot of grandparents are there with their kids and their grandkids, so I see a lot of generations there, which is really special,” Lewis said of the market scene.
Lewis has formed friendships with her customers, market manager and supporter Sam Bradshaw and her fellow vendors. A batch of dedicated customers made a beeline for her booth every Sunday, and one man brought her items from his garden along with a homemade tomato sauce. She said it’s an honor to be included in the market and she’s already gearing up for next summer’s Sunday gatherings.
The Mercer Island Farmers Market has also served as a launching pad for Lewis’ national success. Local customers have played an integral role in having Lewis ship cookies to their friends and families in other states for the holidays. Lewis includes a personal note in each package to further display her customer connection. Lewis also hits the road from her Seattle headquarters — complete with a production kitchen above Voula’s Offshore Cafe — to deliver cookies to homes and businesses on the Island.
Lewis professionally trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Los Angeles and has worked for celebrity chefs doing recipe development along with being a food stylist for the Food Network.
In starting her business during COVID, Lewis noted, “I saw an opportunity to help other people overcome their loneliness as it had helped me overcome my own, and cookies really does have this special way of bringing people together.”
For more information, visit https://www.cookieswithtiffany.com.
