Patty Pan started serving tamales at Seattle-area farmers’ markets back in 1997. The local foods movement grew and our business grew along with it. Over time we developed strong symbiotic relationships with the farmers who are our friends and neighbors at the markets, shaping our menu around their surpluses and their growing seasons.

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At the beginning of 2013 we became a worker-owned cooperative: a democratic, collaborative workplace where we share responsibility, successes, and challenges. In 2014 we bought a building in Shoreline where we built a commercial kitchen with an adjacent dining space for monthly community dinners.  Along the way we’ve diversified our business model, supplying our products to likeminded grocery stores and catering large and small events. For us business isn’t just business: it’s also a way to sustain ourselves while doing good work and challenging ourselves daily to shop, cook and eat with integrity.