Today we’d like to introduce you to Leyla Williams.
Hi Leyla, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Stepping from our Bake Shop into the Good Seed Coffee Boutique, I heard Hebrew. Walking over to the family, I greet them and am brightened to discover one of them is a sourdough baker. Within a few minutes, I felt something signal deep in me; I was going to make bread with this man.
Every year, I visit Israel at least twice, and so on my next trip, my daughter and I went to visit Erez at his Bread Tree bakery. Yes, yes, we talked about bread, but what fascinated me was the smoked aged ghee he slathers all over the unique sourdough “Kubana” bread before baking. Erez’s genius was evident, and I wanted to learn both bread and butter from him!
“Is there any chance you can come to our shop in Solvang, CA, again to teach me sourdough?” I brooched in hope.
Nodding as he calculated if this was possible while scraping up flour with his bench knife, Erez affirmed, “Actually, I will be closing my bakery for Passover so I can come for a couple of weeks”.
Our bake shop turned into a lab and our coffeehouse into a test kitchen. For thirteen hours a day, my hands were wet with dough or cleaning up and everyone was fed with an abundance of delicious trial loaves. Discovering an amazing miller, Grist & Toll, to supply organic heritage grains allowed me to design recipes with Erez that would not only taste nurturing, but coupled with the slow ferment style, would recover bread as real food!
The honeymoon of bread at our Bake Shop was ending. Oven lights kept exploding due to the high steam needed for sourdough. Refrigerator space for retarding loaves meant a regular ingredient Tetris that we should have got carnival awards for. To top it off, the hours I devoted to taking my turn on the stainless-steel counter meant the Head Baker’s schedule had huge gaps. The bread was fantastic, but the process was not functional. Heading to Africa for the rest of the month meant that everyone would get a break to rethink the bread “balagan” we found ourselves in.
Packing for Kenya complete, I took a break to read my Bible and drink coffee before needing to head to LAX. My husband approached me with a gleam. “Leyla, I think we are supposed to do something with this!” Scooting over, Brad sits next to me, and I realize we both have our Bibles open to the same passage, the story of the Shunammite woman in 2 Kings 4:8-10. This is the only story in the Bible where a husband and wife agree on a building project. After thirty-two years, Brad knows better than to show excitement toward me since I will act. However, our shared joy was strong and so I departed for Kenya with this vivid contemplation on my spirit.
Each day, more of the vision emerged. The biblical story details that it was transient lodging for a visiting prophet, a small room on the roof with simple furnishings. As I prayed and pondered, I began to see Jerusalem stone rooting through a hexagonal bottom story and a cantilever “roof” retreat in a similar hexagon shape. I had trust that this was going to happen. Inspiration stirred as I imagined hive-like activity below, where my bread could have a dedicated stone oven, and I could do workshops, while above was the retreat, perched to view the mountains.
Between safaris and coffee farm visits, I was able to What’s App Brad and Erez and by the time I came home, Erez had a return ticket to help dial in equipment for the Shunem Bread House. Binoculars in hand, I recall viewing zebras and having to look down to confirm my credit card. Layered into my memory of cheetahs, lions, giraffes, and hippos are specs for refrigerators and a beautiful stone oven. Eager to improve the Bake Shop function, I would squeeze the stone oven into Brad’s roaster room until the Shunem Bread House was built.
Returning to California, I immediately met with Ulrick Design. Zach Ulrick is an extremely talented architectural draftsman, but also a friend. Bringing my sketches and notes to him, I sheepishly inquired, “Zach, is this even possible?” Within a few weeks, on my birthday, setting a drawing against the centerpiece candle he smiled with the answer as he watched my stunned reaction; “It’s possible and I will do it with you.”
We carpooled to Planning & Development together, but the meeting was mostly clerical, we would need to wait for a decision and were soon to hear a firm answer about our permit.
“No. We have never approved a two-story ADU in Santa Barbara County”. Oops. Hmm. I was so sure.
If we wanted to modify to one story, we could resubmit. But that was our firm “no”. We did not get this ball rolling to just “build something”. Brad and I saw clear details in that Shunammite story of a room perched on a roof. So, we let the project go. I continued to share the space with Brad, and life-rich bread came forth from my teeny corner of the roastery.
Several months later, in the throes of the COVID crisis, Ulrick Design got a call from the County. “Does your client still want to do that two-story project?” Who has ever had a government clerk pursue a dead application? “Yes. Yes!” we affirmed, and within six months, fresh bread wafted from the Shunem Bread House, and prophets were retreating above with astounding mountain views!
Redwoods have been planted, and a garden has been planned. Weekly, the boutique bread bakery downstairs produces nine different types of heritage grain sourdough for Good Seed Coffee as well as custom orders for customers. The Shunem Bread House is indeed a hive for learning and experiential events, so we established Sky Roots nonprofit to host our signature offerings. Frequently, people gather around the soapstone counter to try their hand at learning sourdough, challah, and other Homestead Art favorites or engage in Hebraic culture courses and events. And through Airbnb, guests from all over the world get a little slice of ancient hospitality.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Bread was a key anchoring activity to ground me during this season, but the rest of the time had a war room vibe.
At the time, we owned the original roaster, established in 1992 in Mammoth Lakes, CA, called the Looney Bean, and had opened Good Seed Coffee, the first boutique coffee roastery with a dedicated organic bake shop and coffeehouse in the Santa Ynez Valley of California. I was also deep into the building of the Shunem Bread House and sometimes would walk outside to see sixteen tradesmen’s trucks lined up. Every day was back-to-back decisions, mostly critical for survival and some creative for the building project.
Within a day of the COVID Mandate, I had custom masks sewn for my staff and online stores with pick-up options at both locations. Avalanched with paperwork to keep two businesses going and to keep my word to all employees, landlords, vendors, and the government meant that I sat for twelve hours a day. Sat in a chair. Did not get fresh air and did not move except to pivot from one stack of papers to another. My home office was the war room, and I rarely did one thing at a time. Calling the IRS, an automated voice stated, “You are caller 501, please hold”. And I did. All day. Because I don’t give up. Because people were depending on me, and honor is important to me. But the diligence had a toll. It is not normal to stop moving and my back went out. After eight months of physical therapy to help me walk again, I wanted to do a wholesome act of defiance and signed up for a 50 KM high altitude trail race in Moab.
Landing in the terrain of red rocks and molten canyons with my daughter, mom, and friend (and manager) was awe-inspiring. Moab is beautiful! And then my phone buzzed. “Freak snowstorm up in the area of the race. Rescue helicopter had to get scout crew; two vehicles lost. Need to cancel the 50 KM race”. I didn’t panic but clicked into solution mode. I had recovered from dragging my leg behind me (from the back injury) to being ready for an ultramarathon! I was not giving up.
Reaching out to a local professional runner, Nicole designed a safe but challenging route on trails unaffected by the storm. Stocking up on “aid station” snacks at the health food store and studying maps for food drops, the last race prep item was to surrender the comfort that six months of preparation and training for a specific course had afforded me. I was going into a new unknown, a perfect redirect for this milestone. Getting on the new trail in 21-degree weather for an eight-mile uphill to begin the race at altitude did not deter me from savoring this win, and as I crossed the Lion’s Head bridge to log the last of 50 kilometers, my support crew cheered, “She never gave up!”
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Even before founding Sky Roots, our nonprofit, I had spent a couple of decades specializing in Israel. Learning is an immersive, adventurous, and curious pursuit for me. Once I hone in on something, I want to understand the subject in a prism style, following the direction of all the ways the subject radiates out and how it expands beyond its customary center. Traditionally, Israel is a bucket list event for its historical importance. However, after studying one summer in Jerusalem and doing field trips all over the country, an intrigue ignited that has not flamed out.
Returning each year means exploring wineries, tackling hikes, and long mornings in bakeries with fresh bread and coffee. Each return also means investigating the modern pioneer history alongside biblical history, with an eye on eternity, as I load Waze with yet another off-the-beaten-path site for that day’s itinerary. Once people hear that I am going again, they ask if they can join me, so I have been road-tripping around Israel with a range of travelers who value curating history with culture and a genuine love of the land and its varied people for over twenty years now.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
A total spaz! I have a lot of energy, but I am a closet introvert. Growing up in Persia (Iran) and abandoning my father’s two businesses, as well as the vacation home on the Caspian Sea and our apartment in Tehran, was a shock. My dad knew a revolution was coming and prized our freedom over our accomplishments.
I did not speak for a year, routinely drawing airplanes instead of enjoying recess, once we arrived in Irvine, CA during my kindergarten year. However, I made up for my shock by junior high and was voted “Friend to All” in high school.
At Pepperdine, grassroots responses to disasters captivated my passion. During the 1989 San Fransisco Earthquake, I had a heart impulse to do SOMETHING. So, I did. No organization. No support. After getting permission to have a car wash at Chevron in Malibu, I printed flyers at Kinkos and invited volunteers. The Red Cross invited me to their headquarters, the kind of building you need to have a special code for to get to the highest floor of the elevators. I was awarded the largest private donation award. The papers and radio wanted to interview but really, I just did not connect with the fanfare. I felt a prompt to act and did it. Case closed. Later, I was asked to be the Director of Habitat for Humanity for the Pepperdine Chapter. Agreeing, I traveled to the South. There were still “black only” white only” drinking fountains. This was the early 1990’s. Catch up, people!!!
Soon I learned I was made for intimate, grassroots acts of compassion that could be accomplished with a little bit of signature spaz backed by a whole lotta quiet.
Pricing:
- Lodging varies from $500-1350
- Workshops vary from $95-190
- Bread varies from $14-20
- Israel Tours are Custom
Contact Info:
- Website: www.skyroots.org
- Instagram: @skyrootsstudio
- Facebook: goodseedcoffeeboutique
- Yelp: Good Seed Coffee Boutique
