We were lucky to catch up with Michelle Kirby recently and have shared our conversation below.

Michelle, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Who is your hero and why? What lessons have you learned from them and how have they influenced your journey?

My husband and I are very fortunate to have had amazing parents that showed us what work ethic and love looked like inside a family. We have taken those values that we have learned at a young age and put them into our business. We are fortunate to have family members that work with us and valued long-time employees who show the same work ethic which is why our business has been so successful and continued to grow over the past 11 years. I don’t think we would be where we are today with the support of our family, our employees and more importantly our customers.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

We started this journey many years ago with my husband working in the food industry since high school. His love for cooking took us to taking over Leeward Market in its current location 11 years ago and making it was it is today. I followed and made Leeward my fulltime commitment leaving behind a career in commercial real estate which was a huge leap. It was a fast pace learn on the job transition and I have not looked back since.

We provide breakfast and lunch to our customers seven days a week from 7am to 3pm. I love being a part of the Eastport Community and treating each and every customer who walks in the door like family. I am proud of our continued service to the community in providing just one meal at a time and one conservation at a time. We are a meeting space for locals to engage in community news or just a place for friends to gather for breakfast at the same time and same table everyday!

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

As everyone else during Covid we had to make quick changes to make sure we could continue to serve the local community and in doing that we were lucky to have such wonderful customers and neighbors that made sure to support us. Without the community support we would not be as successful as we are today!

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

My business partner is my husband of almost 30 years and we are lucky to say we meet in high school and have never looked back. We have two wonderful son’s that have been a huge part of our family success at Leeward and a part of our dedicated team. This truly is a family business and has taken a village to make successful.

Contact Info:

• Facebook: Leeward Market Cafe & Pizzeria
• Other: Instragram – leeward_market_cafe

Image Credits

Maddie Kirby Photography