Cafe Lolo Co-Founders
Café Lolo is a project from Leah Engel, Alex Halmi, and Brett Bankson. Lolo is named for Alex's close family friend Carol, who introduced Alex to cooking as a child and encouraged him to pursue food professionally.
Carol passed away in 2022 while Alex and Leah were still building the business, and Café Lolo is dedicated to her memory. The deep relationships they formed with farmers and vendors at the markets mirrored the kind of close, interdependent community Carol had modeled for Alex throughout his childhood—one rooted in care, reciprocity, and shared work.
Leah and Brett met working together at Three Sacks Full in 2023, and Brett officially joined the team after a year of residencies, pop-ups, and markets to start building a permanent home together for Cafe Lolo.
Alex Halmi
Alex Halmi has been in the restaurant industry for well over a decade, graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York before working in kitchens throughout Australia, Portland and Seattle.
Although he has been a pasta lover since birth, his affinity for creating pasta flourished while serving as Sous Chef at Salare in Ravenna. After cooking there for 4 years, Alex dedicated a year WWOOF'ing with his wife, Leah, at a small family operated farm in Kauai. Upon returning to Seattle, Alex landed the "pastaioli" position at Cascina Spinasse to further his pasta skills.
In his free time Alex likes to experiment with new dishes, play frisbee and wrestle with his cat.
Leah Engel
Leah Engel grew up in a family who gathered often around food and cooking, and her passion for the culinary arts has been lifelong. As a teenager, she graduated from the Apicius culinary school in Florence, Italy and fell in love with Italian food and culture.
Settling back in Seattle, Leah joined the team at Tonnemaker Valley Farm and got to celebrate locally grown food and share her enthusiasm with the public at farmers markets.
Leah eventually landed a pastry position at Lucinda Grain Bar, where she learned everything from bread-making to plated desserts, and started experimenting with milling local grains. She then continued on as the Assistant Kitchen Manager at Coyle's Bakeshop to hone her craft and work with compelling local product.
Aside from food, she loves doing yoga, spending time outside, and spotting cats in the neighborhood.
Brett Bankson
Brett Bankson began cooking professionally in 2017 instead of finishing his PhD in cognitive neuroscience at the University of Pittsburgh, and stepped fully into the restaurant industry after returning to Seattle in 2020.
Brett’s path has taken him from the kitchen at Pittsburgh’s Fet Fisk to developing a produce-driven beverage program for Outstanding in the Field, with seasons spent farming at Synergy Gardens in Homer, Alaska, and working wine harvest at Foundry Vineyards in Walla Walla. Most recently, Brett cooked at Three Sacks Full in Seattle's Roosevelt neighborhood and began shaping a culinary practice centered on seasonal agriculture, foraging, and preservation.
Outside the kitchen, Brett hangs out with his cats and plants and enjoys reading and watching films.
