Everybody Has a Story – September 2014

When Pattie Bakke looks customers in the eye at the Mustard Seed Café and asks “How’s breakfast?” she really wants to know, and when they respond, she really listens – looking for a way to lighten hearts and make people happy.

Pattie was born in Hermosa Beach, California in a hospital owned by her Dad. It was a sleepy surf town, and the kids (Pattie has four siblings) had an outdoor life. They would have breakfast, and roar out the door to surf, play volleyball, to skate. When Pattie was 10, she and her little sister were sent to board at the Ojai Valley School. She bloomed there, learning French, participating in sports, making friends. Her desire then was to grow up and be an actress.

When she graduated from Ojai Valley School, she went to Loyola Marymount for a year, majoring in theatre and minoring in French, and in her sophomore year moved to Mammoth, to ski. She got a season pass in exchange for working as a chair lift operator, and worked in a restaurant at night, little knowing she was setting out a life path. It was in Mammoth that she met Scott, the man she would later marry, and had Jesse and the twins, Jeremy and Josh. As the boys grew into toddlerhood, she was still waiting tables, her bountiful energies and love for her kids getting them through. She never did go back to Loyola – although the friends she made in the theater program are still close to her.

The family had a brief stint in Tampa, Florida. Florida wasn’t their place, though, and three and a half years later, they moved back to Southern California. It was there that she took a job in an upscale restaurant for the first time, learning the joys of truly great food. She worked at night (“Great tips! Great people!”), Scott worked in the day, and the boys played on the beach. A few years later, when Jesse was in 5th grade, Josh and Jeremy in 3rd, they moved to the Rogue Valley. Pattie began waitressing and tending bar at the Rogue Valley Country Club, where she stayed for 6 years, eventually becoming Dining Room Manager.

After she and Scott divorced, Pattie worked for 2 years at the Rogue Valley Manor, where she ran the dining room, until her Dad (then living in Grants Pass) became ill. With Scott checking in on the boys when he could in Medford, Pattie moved in with her Dad, burning up the I-5 freeway and tending to her Dad until he died. The boys finished high school. Jesse joined the Army, giving two tours to Iraq, and one to Afghanistan. (“Was it rough on you, Pattie?” Pattie blanches, her usually animated face stills. She quietly says, “Oh, yeah.”) The twins graduated from SOU. Jesse lives in Portland and works for the State Department. The twins live together in Ashland. Josh is an accountant and Jeremy is a videographer.

Nine years ago, shortly after her Dad died, Pattie was at the Bella Union Restaurant when she was introduced to a man named Jeff. They’ve been together ever since. Their daughter Gracie, now eight, was born a year later, and Pattie was able to be a stay-at-home mom. The family has built a good life together. They live in Ruch where they have a big veggie garden and a Koi pond. Jeff works as an EMT for the Applegate Fire District and is a broker/owner for Oregon-Land.com. Gracie dazzles all who meet her.

One day, when Gracie was four, Jeff came home and told Pattie that their friend Jeannie Inman (whose family owned the Applegate Store and who had created Annie Mac’s Bakery) had just purchased Jacksonville’s Mustard Seed Café – via CraigsList. Jeff told Jeannie that Pattie had some deep restaurant experience and maybe could be of use. The two women knew each other, although not very well, but it was kismet – Jeannie called Pattie, and the Dynamic Duo was born.

Jeannie is the cook who makes the food that Pattie is proud to serve. Pattie is the front-of-house, waiting tables, making each customer feel special, doing the incredible artwork that stands as on-the-wall menus and information provider. (“My Dad was the only surgeon in the world with beautiful handwriting. I got it from him.”) The two women laugh a lot as they pour their tremendous energies into making the Mustard Seed a great place for locals and visitors alike.

I asked Pattie if she still wants to be an actress. Pattie grins and says, “Not really. The restaurant is my stage now.” She still plays a great game of volleyball and reads when she can – (“I love David Sedaris!”) She has worked hard and stayed positive – (“Jeannie says I’m a Pollyanna.”) As she looks back, she’s proudest of her kids, all four of them. It’s been a good life. Jacksonville is lucky to have her spirit.