Mainstay Provisions, an all-day café and specialty market, is now open at 612 NW 65th St. in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood. The building previously housed the Sneakery from 2006 until it closed earlier this year.
Mainstay’s café menu features pastry, soups, sandwiches, salads and rotisserie chicken, all prepared in-house “using techniques usually reserved for fine dining restaurants.” The market offers a unique selection of specialty grains, oils and vinegars, fresh produce and pasta, as well as local and international beer and wine.
Mainstay is the creation of Seattleites Thom Koschwanez and Ashley Thompson. The young parents have created a café to address the busy lifestyles of working locals and longstanding Ballard residents. Their goal is to provide high-quality food and market items at affordable prices while employing fine-dining caliber chefs and cooks at high wages in excellent working conditions.
Koschwanez, an Ethan Stowell chef alumnus, has been in the industry for more than 25 years. His goal has been to provide an atmosphere for chefs and cooks to succeed without having to sacrifice work-life balance.
The café is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays, and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekends.
“Going home and having dinner with my wife and daughter is an absolute dream,” said Koschwanez. “I hope people can see that the hours we are open and the people we employee are a luxury for both Ashley and myself, but also for the neighborhood.”
Koschwanez is referring to BJ Bresnik, Mainstay’s chef de cuisine. Bresnik, formerly of The Walrus and the Carpenter, brings not only award-winning menu offerings but has also commitment to the café’s work/life balance.
“My family is my world. (My son) Oliver is 10 and goes to West Woodland, just a short walk away from Mainstay. It was really important to me to have these next few years with Oliver while he still wants to be around his momma before the teenage years begin and I become too embarrassing.”
Mainstay has teamed with Ladro roasting, a favorite in the Seattle coffee scene. Locally roasted coffee pairs perfectly with house-made pastries, breakfast sandwiches and an extended morning menu.
