Just steps away from Walter E. Washington convention center on a quiet street sits Seylou bakery (926 N St. NW, Suite A). The bakery features fresh artisan breads as well as a variety of pasties and weekly pizza nights on Thursdays and Fridays. It is also an operational four mill.
Owner Jonathon Bethony said he named the bakery for the African bird Seylou. He visited an African village for 40 days and remembered the bird as a symbol of a higher meaning in life.
Seylou’s bakers mill their own flour in house to ensure that customers get the healthiest, best tasting product. The bakery is unique in their commitment to ingredients, specifically the use of locally-sourced whole grains.
Bethony said his mother is diabetic which inspired him to make items she could eat without concern about her blood sugar levels. He is proud to have created a product “delicious enough to stand on its own” that also has health benefits for people like his mother.
Seylou’s baked goods are not only enjoyed by the community, Bethony said, they also benefit the land where the grain is grown because of regenerative and organic farming practices.
“Everything we’re producing here is feeding the soil and is helping to build a future for generations to come,” Bethony said. “It’s actually building topsoil, as well as being something that’s hopefully building strong bodies.”
Bethony said that the community in Shaw has been extremely welcoming since they opened in 2017. The bakery has an area-wide following, he added, with customers driving from Baltimore and southern Virginia for a product “they can’t find anywhere else.”
Seylou is open Thursday and Friday 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. You can learn more about their baking, ingredients and products on their website, www.seylou.com.
Sarah Payne is a History and Neuroscience student at The University of Michigan interning with HillRag. She writes for and serves as an assistant news editor for Michigan’s student newspaper, The Michigan Daily. You can reach her at sarahp@hillrag.com.
