Prima Bistro and Saltwater Fish House and Oyster Bar have been serving bakery items made in kitchens that bake products just for the two restaurants.
Jenn and Sieb Jurriaans opened Prima Bistro, their first restaurant, in Langley in 2006. Sieb had been a chef in Seattle for 10 years when they opened Prima Bistro. Jenn says “We had a friend who encouraged us to explore the opportunity to open a restaurant in the Star Bistro space. When we met Gene and Tamar Felton and saw their space for a possible new restaurant in Langley, we couldn’t pass it up.”
Jenn adds: “I had a lot of family that lived on Whidbey. In fact my grandparents owned a gift store in Freeland in the 70's/80's called the Brass Ring. We were married here. We loved it here and loved the idea of moving here.”
A second restaurant opportunity for the Jurriaans opened up when Café Langley was closing; it became Saltwater Fish House and Oyster Bar five years ago. Café Langley had been a highly regarded restaurant in Langley for 30 years. The Jurriaans had heard from their friends and customers that a seafood restaurant would do well in Langley. They responded by creating Saltwater Fish House and Oyster Bar which features fish and chips, clam chowder, lobster rolls, crab cakes, mussels, clams and a great oyster selection.
Jenn Jurriaans says, “We also wanted to do a bakery for several years.” The opportunity to create a retail bakery was offered to them by Gary and Beth Smith, owners of Mukilteo Coffee Roasters. The Smiths had a restaurant on Crawford Road that served breakfast and lunch items in addition to their coffee. After several years of having a café adjacent to the coffee roasting operation, they wanted to focus on their coffee roasting business.
In March 2020, Gary Smith called Jenn and asked her if they would like to take over the bakery and café space next to Mukilteo Coffee Roasters. Jenn notes, “We were so honored to be asked to use this space to create our bakery business.”
The Jurriaans are very proud of what has been accomplished with Seabiscuit Bakery. They currently have nine bakers, three kitchen staff, and others who serve their bakery customers; total employees now number 20. They feel that a great deal of what makes their bakery a success is their dedicated staff. Their head baker is Allyss Taylor, who worked at Saltwater and is a “Mastermind when it comes to baking.”
Along with the two other restaurants, the Jurriaans now have about 70 employees.
Jenn says, “The service style we are presenting is a bakery and a deli, a bit different than the Mukilteo Coffee Roasters Cafe, but this is our new version and we think people will love it. As with our past two restaurants that took over beloved spaces, we want feedback and suggestions and we will try to incorporate as many things in as we can. The biggest requests we are getting for this space are gluten free and vegetarian options, and we are working hard to respond to requests. We have received great feedback on the amazing pastries we offer, as well as the variety of deli items and baked goods we sell at Seabiscuit Bakery.”
Seabiscuit Bakery is located next to Mukilteo Coffee Roasters at 3228 Lake Leo Way, Langley. Current hours are 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Thursday – Sunday.
