Gourmondo Co - Entrepreneur of the Year

Company: Gourmondo Co, Seattle, WA
Company Description: Gourmondo opened as a 470 square-foot cafe in Pike Place Market in 1996 and is now one of Seattle's largest, full-service catering and gourmet box lunch companies which also operates in-house cafes for large and mid-sized companies, providing healthy, gourmet grab-and-go dining options to their employees.
Nomination Category: Entrepreneur Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Entrepreneur of the Year - Food & Beverage

Nomination Title: Alissa Leinonen

As the Founder & CEO of one of Seattle’s largest and longest-running food businesses, Gourmondo Co, Alissa Leinonen sits at the helm of a successful woman-owned business and has influenced the way in which people dine in Seattle for more than 20 years.

Leinonen opened Gourmondo in 1996 as a 470 square-foot café in the Pike Place Market – her first day’s sales totaled $36. Since then, she has worked to elevate the Seattle boxed lunch experience to a gourmet level, expanded to offer full-service social and event catering, and developed a successful Corporate Café division that provides healthy, gourmet grab-and-go dining options to large and mid-sized companies and their employees.

Leinonen believes in supporting and mentoring other women in business and providing opportunities to collaborate on Gourmondo sponsored projects, including incubating small woman-owned businesses in her commercial commissary and highlighting their products in her cafes. Through her company and her own resources, Leinonen supports a variety of local non-profits and community initiatives, forges local strategic partnerships for her own brand and others, and positively impacts the lives of the more than 250 employees on her payroll. Leinonen has grown her business slowly and strategically over time, all while raising two children.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Alissa has shown herself to be an invaluable leader during the Covid-19 crisis, pivoting Gourmondo’s offerings, and investing resources to set the highest standard for food safety in our “new normal”. When COVID-19 hit Seattle, Gourmondo lost 80 percent of sales within 48 hours.

Alissa got creative and quickly found a way to keep employees working, while answering the urgent call to serve the community. She made a quick and hard pivot from catering to executives and corporations to providing over 600,000 meals and counting to some of the most vulnerable populations in Seattle and the surrounding areas.

She also set up a system for businesses to sponsor meals to frontline workers across the Pacific Northwest as well as other non-profits of their choice, partnering with over 20 companies and top business leaders. Beyond providing fresh, healthy, plentiful meals at cost- Alissa worked to make it an experience for the recipients, including thoughtful personalized notes of encouragement with each meal.

In addition to offering high-quality products, Alissa started Gourmondo with the vision of creating a business that offered an environment supporting working families. From day one, she developed a menu plan and production schedule that allowed for a full-time employee to work mornings and be home in time to pick up their kids from school. This production schedule is still in place today, over twenty years later. The company stops production every day at 10:15 a.m. to enjoy a family meal together.

Gourmondo also believes it is incredibly important to align philanthropic activities with organizations and causes that resonate and are meaningful to our employees. Since 2016, Leinonen has continued to grow our “Gourmondo Gives” line of box lunches, which serve to spotlight and support a variety of local organizations including YouthCare, Lunchdebt.org, Childhaven, Treehouse, Big Table, and more. Each box includes a postcard filled with information about each organization and how we can all support their efforts.

Social responsibility starts from the top and Leinonen believes if we want to support important causes such as helping at-risk youth, the homeless, and immigrants’ rights, it is her responsibility to provide opportunities and resources for those individuals to thrive. It begins by creating job opportunities that are accessible and inclusive to all – being thoughtful to language barriers and those who have been impacted by trauma and looking to rebuild their lives. Alissa believes it is important to “live your values and put your money where your mouth is”.

Led by Leinonen, we work for more than financial gain; we work to prove to ourselves that we can achieve great things, for our customers and our community.

-In response to the pandemic, over half a million meals have gone to feed those in need
-Increased company revenue 30% YOY
-Thanks to her business development and targeted growth efforts, dozens of jobs have been created in our community
-By highlighting local non-profits in our “Gourmondo Gives” program, she has increased visibility for local non-profits
-Awarded the EY Entreprenuer of the Year 2019, she was named “Unstoppable” for being a fearless and driven entrepreneur, innovating in her space for over 20 years