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Sustainable Spotlight: Katonah Shops & Cafés

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Sustainable Spotlight: Katonah Shops & Cafés

Community Climate Heroes, Food and Regenerative Agriculture, Waste and Recycling

Our community is known for cutesy indie shops, cafes, and businesses. Today, we’re shining a sustainability spotlight on a few superstars who make fighting food waste part of their business model and discussing how you can follow their example to make your business climate-friendly.

LMNOP Bakery

LMNOP in Katonah, an artisan café and bakery, is the perfect remedy for your afternoon chocolate cravings, offering a burst of flavor and a sense of community from Tuesday through Sunday. Their story is as grassroots as Bedford 2030’s, starting ten years ago with a passionate woman in a kitchen and a desire to do something incredible. Anne Mayhew started baking homemade bread for her family, which led to her leaving fresh loves hanging on friends’ doorknobs in handmade cloth bags. Demand for Anne’s comforting creations soared as she baked nearly 400 loaves of bread weekly in her home kitchen. Recognizing it was time to grow, she began fundraising for a storefront and, two years ago, opened her dream sustainable bakery in downtown Katonah. It’s a lively spot today, always buzzing with laughter and hungry customers.

Anne Mayhew, LMNOP Bakery, and Harmony Dixon, Bedford 2030, discussing LMNOP’s commercial composting program.

Anne’s passion and curiosity aren’t limited to creating the best bread, leading her to wonder how to operate a zero-waste bakery. Her policy is to use every element of food possible, donate leftovers, use reusable dishes in the café, and be vigilant in food scrap composting. Despite the higher operational cost, LMNOP uses a commercial composting hauler, compostable takeaway containers, silverware, coffee cups, and lids. Even while we chatted, Anne was brainstorming about how she could do even better—for instance, improved bin labeling in the shop for customers. Her ambition is whole-hearted and admirable. 

Anne’s reason for wanting to give back is deep care for the people who patronize her bakery, ensuring that everything she produces returns to the Earth and not into a plastic bag. From sourcing ingredients as locally as possible to supporting local organic farms like Battenkill Valley Farms, Parlor Coffee, and Cabbage Hill Farm, LMNOP’s fresh footprint leaves a giant imprint on the community. Anne says they’re “doing their best,” but we think they’re doing better than that—they are a sustainable business leader in Katonah. 

Anne’s Go-To Sweet Treat Order: Flourless salted chocolate tiny cookies (inspired by her daughter, who always needs a sweet treat after dinner)

Anne’s Go-To Lunch Order: Beet sandwich with goat cheese (or anything on fresh bread)

Watch our interview at LMNOP Bakery on YouTube.

Katonah Reading Room

Those who live in Katonah know it’s a special place, and one reason is the independently owned local businesses, like the Katonah Reading Room. Gretchen Menzies has magically curated a sustainability-minded bookstore and cafe in the historic heart of downtown Katonah, where you want to linger.

Grace Gilmore, Bedford 2030, in conversation with Gretchen Menzies, Katonah Reading Room, on their sustainable business practices.

In conversation with Bedford 2030, Gretchen acknowledged the sustainability challenges surrounding paper books and e-readers, making her keenly aware of other ways their bookshop can positively impact the climate. For example, they donate their extra baked goodies to the Community Center of Northern Westchester to curb food waste and increase access to fresh-baked foods. They also use compostable cups, sell takeaway beverages in recyclable containers, and sell items crafted with sustainability in mind. Gretchen, a painter when she’s not curating books, gushed over a sustainable watercolor paint maker who packages her paints in paper instead of plastic.

We fell in love with Gretchen’s and the Katonah Reading Room’s spirit today and how they care about the planet as much as we do. We highly recommend a long, leisurely visit to the Katonah Reading Room for a feel-good-about-the-plane-bookish adventure or a productive afternoon in their upstairs co-working “speakeasy.”

Gretchen’s Go-To Cafe Order: Fresh baked apricot almond scone or lemon sugar cookie

Gretchen’s Current Fave Book Rec: The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus by Emma Knight

Watch our interview at the Katonah Reading Room on Instagram and YouTube.