Waking up slowly in Edison

Tweets, in the old Morse Hardware building, is owned by Charles Atkinson and David Blakesly. This casual bistro offers coffee, pastries and a vegan / vegetarian menu with meat options. Thirty miles north of Stanwood, Saturday mornings begin quietly in the twoblock town of Edison, often with a cup of coffee on the side deck at Tweets, the old Morse Hardware store turned casual bistro.

Charles Atkinson, co-owner, said by 9 or 10 a.m. neighbors are usually basking in conversation and kicking off the weekend. When they get hungry, breakfast – or lunch – is just a few lazy steps away.

Tweets’ other owner, chef and baker David Blakesly, prepares a vegan and vegetarian menu with meat options.

“In season, we grow the core of the vegetables ourselves,” Atkinson said.

They have a greenhouse in east Edison and also farm on a small plot of friends’ land, while the main crop is grown on Samish Island.

Out back of Slough Foods, owner John DeGloria and Charlotte Remick serve wine, cheese and meats to customers at picnic tables. PHOTO BY JEREMIAH O Tweets’ espresso bar brews fair trade coffee, also roasted on Samish Island, which they pair with pastries and confections.

For all their other ingredients, Atkinson and Blakesly source within a five-mile radius of Edison, part of their commitment to keeping food local, fresh and organic.

“Our philosophy is wholesome food and community,” Atkinson said.

John DeGloria echoes this statement down the street at his shop, Slough Foods, where he stocks his shelves with “honest food and products made with integrity.”

For shoppers reminded of Italy’s delicatessens and salumerias, it will make perfect sense that DeGloria lived in Rome.

“We want to serve local foods married with European standards,” he said. “It’s all about simple – when you’ve got good products you don’t need to do much to them.”

And DeGloria doesn’t. Instead, he offers a picnic table out back on the slough, a bottle of wine, and a plate of sliced meats and cheeses. You’re responsible for the conversation, but at that point it shouldn’t be difficult.

Slough Foods isn’t the only place to snag a table and eat outside.

Jim Kowalski, owner of Farm to Market Bakery, said their garden and yard are their best assets.

With only eight seats inside the cozy bakery, Kowalski, who bought the place from the original owners two years ago, said eventually he’d “like to have a few more tables (inside), but, basically, this is what you get.”

“Besides,” he said, gesturing outside, “The weather seems to cooperate more often than not.”

When it doesn’t, people stream in anyway, knowing they’ll find the warm smells of food “made entirely from scratch utilizing local ingredients.”

When purchasing the raw ingredients for his pies and cinnamon rolls, his soups and baked sandwiches, Kowalski connects with small farms in the area and tries to do as much bartering as possible.

In fact, the only thing not handmade in the bakery is the bread.

“We get our bread from the Breadfarm,” Kowalski said. “You can’t get any better than them.”

Breadfarm is owned by baker Renée Bourgault, and has been in Edison for seven years. In addition to a storefront open to the public, Breadfarm wholesales to 60 restaurants and groceries.

Bourgault said their most popular bread is the Samish River Potato loaf, but they also craft unleavened sourdough, wheat and rye, as well as numerous other staples and seasonal offerings.

And, like the rest of Edison, Breadfarm is focused on community.

“We source from the most local providers we can,” Bourgault said.

Flour arrives from Fairhaven Mill in Bellingham, potatoes are harvested in Skagit Valley, and grains come from Bluebird Mills in sunny Methow Valley.

From these ingredients bread is baked and delivered seven days a week.

The only stipulation: Breadfarm doesn’t take credit or debit – bring cash.

Edison also boasts three art galleries – Shop Curator, owned by Atkinson and Blakesly of Tweets; the Edison Eye; and Smith and Vallee.

It’s also home to The Lucky Dumpster, an antique store of sorts, “dedicated to providing the conscientious consumer with quality products made from recycled materials,” according to the store’s Facebook page.

So, drive to Edison.

Wake up slowly with a cup of coffee. Take a walk or bring bikes along for a ride. Eat lunch. Check out art and consider recycled wares. Eat again, and drive home with the setting sun. Seriously, what have you go to lose?

To reach Edison, take I-5 north to exit 231 (Highway 11/Chuckanut Drive). Follow Chuckanut for about seven miles and turn left on Bow Hill Road. Follow Bow Hill Road about a mile to Edison.

Tweets: Open Friday through Sunday, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.S

lough Food: Open Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Sunday till 5p.m. Visit www. sloughfood.com

Farm to Market Bakery: Wednesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Breadfarm: Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m., Saturday, 9 a.m. – 7 p.m., and Sunday, 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. Visit www.breadfarm. com