march 18.2005 • just OUt 9
ws briefs
and protectors of traditional marriage tenets.
Lambda Legal and the Northwest Women’s
Law Center represented 38 gays and lesbians
seeking the right to marry. Lawyers used the
“civil rights” approach by deeming Washing
ton’s Defense of Marriage Act of 1998 a viola
tion of the state’s Equal Rights Amendment.
They also say the ban violates the state consti
tution’s prohibition against granting privileges
to one group of citizens and not another.
Personal Attention
tice at a California bakery owned by his grand
mother, the federation’s first female master pas-
•try chef. After learning from her, Williamson
studied with masters in the sweets industry. He
worked for a slew of bakeries and restaurants as
executive pastry chef. He creates pastries and
other treats that are available nowhere else in
the city. Bragging rights are earned for incredibly
labor-intensive wedding cakes and one-of-a-
kind cinnamon rolls that are moist, not sticky
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Mike Oravetz (left) and Nick Williamson are life and business partners as co-owners of Mother
Dear’s Crown Jewel Bakery in Northeast Portland.
“Many of the justices clearly understand that
same-sex couples are being discriminated
against because they cannot marry and that this
discrimination deserves their attention. This is
clearly a moderate court that’s kxiking very
closely at the issues in front of it. Based on
today’s arguments, we have every reason to
believe that the justices’ minds are open and
that they’re taking this case very seriously,” said
Jennifer C. Pizer, senior counsel in Lambda
Legal’s Western Regional Office and one of the
attorneys handling the case.
Attorneys defending the marriage law argued
that the state has an interest in regulating mar
riages that produce children. Lawyers did not
contest the legality of hetero marriages that do
not result in offspring.
Court watchers are withholding predictions
of the justices’ outcomes. Rulings by this court
usually take several months.
“We’re hopeful because when judges appreci
ate the human dimensions of our cases, we often
have gixid results. Once judges understand the
human impact, they can fully determine what
the state constitution’s guarantees of liberty and
equality require—and that’s exactly what these
justices are doing. The questions the justices
asked today suggest that there is a range of legal
issues they’re struggling with that will likely take
them some time to sort out. What matters is
that they appreciate the human dimension of
the case, and we saw today that a gcxxJ number
of them’do,” said Pizer.
N ew T reats , O ld D igs
Mike Oravetz and Nick Williamson, part
ners in life and business, knew they were a cou
ple of white boys moving into a black neighbor-
h<xxj when they bought Mother Dear’s Crown
Jewel Bakery on Northeast Killingsworth Street
at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The busi
ness drew a steady stream of customers under the
ownership of Anovia Hardy, better known as
Mother Dear.
Their challenge was adding their unique gifts
to the winning formula without shaking up
tried-and-true favorites.
Williamson, 24, is the youngest certified
executive pastry chef in the history of the
American Culinary Federation. His career
began at the age of 9, when he served as appren-
3
BRI] DGETOWN
r R EALTY 1
and spicy, but mellow. His creations have deep
roots in European pastry traditions but with
kxzal flair in specialties such as peach pie and
elaborate coffee cake.
Oravetz’s former career was in the field of
greens. He studied landscaping and floral design,
matiaged nurseries and owned a landscape
design company.
Business has picked up quickly since Oravetz
and Williamson acquired keys to the bakery
Feb. 20. They’ve been beefing up exposure for
their soup, sandwich and box lunches and learn
ing about the particular tastes of their mostly
African-American clientele.
“We’ve been used to the world we live in for
so long. We’re now changing to fit the commu-
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nity,” said Oravetz, who primarily runs the deli
with Anita Hardy, daughter-in-law to the origi
nal Mother Dear. He shares business operations
with Williamson, who presides over the bakery
with Mother Dear’s other daughter-in-law, Rosa
Hardy.
The owners’ first lessons were that the sweet
potato pie stays; lemon, strawberry and pecan
flavors are popular; and raspberry and hazelnut
are not.
“I can do things with sugar that no one can
do anymore. It’s incredibly gratifying to have
someone try a pastry here and say, ‘Wow, that’s
the best I’ve ever had,’ ” said Williamson.
Besides consulting with the community
about the menu, flavors and décor, Oravetz and
Williamson are dedicated to giving back with
charitable events and donations.
Continued on Page 11
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