Becoming the Cookie Guy
Olivia Spitzer
Draw your mind back to the summer of 2020, when many pandemic lockdown measures were still in place. Neighbors and friends were slowly starting to gather outside, trying to take advantage of the better weather to break the shell of their isolation. If you were living in Oakland, California at the time, a sunny weekend might include a trip to Lake Merritt with a blanket, a book, or a buddy. Circling that lake you would have found Nathaniel Lown, pushing a small cart, peddling his mothers’ original recipe for homemade vegan oatmeal cookies.
Nate, of Nate’s Oatmeal Cookies, is quiet but friendly, not given to boasting, but undeniably proud of his product. “It started with my mom’s oatmeal raisin pecan [cookie] recipe. When I was in junior high, my brother and sister both went vegan. She started making these cookies and she got better and better, and perfected the recipe over ten years. Fast forward to the pandemic. I called up my mom and said ‘hey, send me that recipe’ – so she sent me the recipe and a box full of ingredients.” He leans into the “and,” making us both laugh at what is quintessential and universal Mom behavior.
Nate was working as a bartender at the time, with no bar to tend due to the lockdown. “I shared them with my roommates, and I started bringing them into the restaurant and they said, ‘hey, if you want to sell these cookies here, we can put them on our meu.’” After that the cookies seemed to have a mind of their own – Nate began selling them at the restaurant, then in corner stores near his house, then on Instagram and, eventually, around Lake Merritt by custom-made cookie cart. “I would bake on Friday and then Saturday and Sunday I would walk around Lake Merritt. I gained a pretty good following in Oakland in the year I was doing it, walking around the lake. People liked them.”
When Nate and his girlfriend decided to move back to Portland, Oregon, he was faced with a big decision: would he continue with the cookies, or move on to something new? “I’ve always worked in food and beverage and my mom taught me a lot about cooking growing up. I’ve always been in music too, and I kinda wanted it to be my thing. I really struggled with trying to decide whether or not to jump in headfirst - into becoming the cookie guy, that identity.”
In the end, the farmers’ market model is what made up Nate’s mind. “It’s so much more enjoyable to be at the market than selling them online. I really enjoy the direct to customer – getting to meet them right there. Getting there early, setting up, having everything look just right, getting to meet new people, telling them about my product and why I’m proud of it, having them really enjoy them.”
And the product, at the end of the day, is what it’s all about when you are The Cookie Guy. Nate’s cookies are all vegan and use nearly entirely organic ingredients. His stand will always have six different varieties of cookies, including one gluten-free option. He rotates seasonal flavors, but always relies on his mom’s original family recipe as the base. “[Using all organic ingredients is] pretty uncommon for bakeries and pastries. It really does make a difference. You can eat two or three of them and not feel weighed down. Because of the high-quality ingredients and no animal products, there is a lot of nutrients in them.”
When I ask Nate about the future of The Cookie Guy, he smiles. “I’d really like to have my own brick and mortar. Just a small shop. Offer 12 – 18 different flavors, all fresh baked that day. I’ll sell drip coffee and I’ll have nice music and it will be a cool spot you can stop by. You can just get coffee and oatmeal cookies and a little freezer where you can buy my cookie dough. Super simple, just stripped down. No breakfast bowls, smoothies. Just drip coffee and oatmeal cookies.” Sounds like the perfect place to spend a rainy Portland day, or to pick up some sweets on your way to an Oregon lake.
Nate’s Oatmeal Cookies is at Beaverton Farmers’ Market on Saturdays and Hillsdale Farmers’ Market on Sundays.