Colson ThayerReposted from LinkedIn: May 18, 2023
Bakeries that are both gluten-free and vegan are not a new concept, but they are new to Iowa. When Marti Payseur was in the early stages of opening a brick-and-mortar location of her bakery, Thistle’s Summit, she was met with pushback. Some insisted that being gluten-free or vegan was a trend.
“Because I’m not a white man in food, no one takes me seriously,” said Payseur. “And particularly in Des Moines, being in a vegan and gluten-free space, everyone’s like ‘Oh that’s cute. You make your little cookies.’”
But that is not the only barrier in Payseur’s way. An integral part of her business is weaving in her queer identity. Payseur identifies as queer and uses she/her/hers pronouns.
“It’s a real priority of mine, being queer, that people can all literally come to the table and eat,” Payseur said. “I think that there’s a lot that can happen in that space that can create some magic and some connections, and you can’t be inclusive if people can’t actually eat.”
One of the things Payseur prioritizes is the use of queer language across all her platforms. Thistle’s Summit’s Instagram bio reads, “queer all year,” joined with the rainbow emoji. Their blog promises queer and food content. Displayed outside the store is a take on the Des Moines flag with rainbow pride colors, underneath their sidewalk sign reads “queer owned.”
“It’s been wonderful to be a queer business owner in Iowa, 95% of the time,” said Payseur.
The other 5%? Payseur described hateful language directed towards her and the business. And that pride flag outside? It has been ripped off the building. But Payseur said the good outweighs the bad.
“My favorite part about this is that I get to be a small part of what allows people of any age to know that they are loved and okay exactly as they are and not just tolerated but accepted.”
Not every queer business owner can incorporate their identity in their business like Payseur.
“There is risk in doing this, absolutely,” said Payseur. “I’ve had some scary **** happen to me. I’ve just always felt like I’ve had the power and privilege to be visible as a white woman and I kind of owe that to my community… There are other people that have more at stake.”
Payseur recognized why other business owners who are already marginalized might not want to be so loud. Queer people of color and trans business owners may have more to risk.
But according to Payseur, Instagram becomes that place where queer business owners can organize. Through social media, queer businesses can connect and send customers each other’s way.
And that is one advantage queer business owners have: community. Payseur thinks that there is an additional emotional attachment when it comes to supporting queer-owned businesses. When Payseur’s current downtown Des Moines location became available, she had to raise almost $15,000 overnight. Thistle’s Summit’s following raised close to $7,000.
Payseur said funding is another barrier that exists for queer people. Payseur remembered meetings with granters who were old white men who had no interest in funding her because of who she is.
For young queer people who want to follow Payseur’s footsteps and open their own businesses, she offered some words of advice.
“I think that there is a real conversation to have with yourself about how you want to approach you in your business,” Payseur said. “I know lots of people who are queer, and they just don’t talk about it in their business, and that’s fine for them. Not everybody has to take this approach… I’ve just always had to be exactly who I am in this conversation. And if you’re willing to do that, there are some sacrifices to it.”