A note from Luv Tempeh's founder

Dear Lovers,

Many of you know that this summer I pulled back from my responsibilities, made space for love and put Luv Tempeh for sale. I’m so proud to share that in less than a month the business had 8 interested buyers and was under contract with an amazing local couple. The gratitude I have been experiencing over the last 3 months has been beyond my own comprehension. I’m feeling blessed to have so much support from my community during this last couple of years of transitions.

As many of know I have been through finalizing my divorce, transition to single mom life and buying my home and kitchen, all in the last 12 months. The winter and spring were tough on my family and I realized that my personal health, mental and physical, were more important than ever. I committed to nourishing myself and cultivating self love through my daily life practices.

The other conscious commitment I made was to say yes to things I would otherwise not have made time for, things I somehow previously decided were not available to single working moms. One of those adventures was saying yes to a friend who invited me to a music/arts festival in Portland this spring. Unexpectedly I met Barry, my human, my person, my lover. It was more that abundantly clear hours after meeting Barry we were just going see each other again. Barry owns and operates a farm in Kona, Hawaii, 5000 miles away from Colorado, clearly that was not enough to halt our trajectory but I knew I needed more flexibility in my life.

So yeah, I just keep saying yes and that's kinda working out great for me. Barry has moved here to be with me now and I will be spending some months on the farm this winter. I have no idea where life will take me but I know I’m just going to keep showing up for it. I’m going to keep showing up for myself, my children and my community. That feels like a pretty great life.

I have too many ideas about what's next yet staying focused on exploring myself, sinking into love and going deep into the creative process before my next creation. You will all continue to see me in the community, at Luv Tempeh events and you know I love being invited to coffee. Don’t be shy and let’s continue to remind each other to say yes and no and have the courage to show up for love.

I couldn’t be more excited about the new owners of Luv Tempeh, Laura and Kevin. I look forward to working with them through this transition and in the future continuing to nourish and grow amazing fresh fungus. 

Thanks Maddalena!

And now, let me introduce myself.

I’m Laura Nunemaker, the new owner of Luv Tempeh. We may have met at a recent farmer’s market. If not, I look forward to meeting you!

My partner, Kevin, and I used to own a vegan bakery in Atlanta, Georgia. Then we traveled full-time in an RV for 6 years and now we’ve decided to set up a home base here in Durango. I knew I wanted to get back into creating delicious food but wasn’t sure how I was going to go about it. Then I saw that Luv Tempeh was up for sale.

We’ve been buying Luv Tempeh almost since its beginnings whenever we passed through Durango. It’s unique, fantastic, and I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to carry on the small batch organic live tempeh business that Maddalena created.

Don’t worry; I’m going to continue to make the same varieties of tempeh for the stores, restaurants, and farmer’s market. And, you’ll find all the fungi foods you’ve come to love at the farmer’s market like miso, amazake, myceliated granola, shio koji, and more. 

What’s in store for Luv Tempeh? This winter I’ll enter experimentation mode and will let you know what I come up with! Do you have any requests? More ready to eat products like the tempeh bacon? Different amazake flavors? Cooking classes? I want to hear about it!

Love,

Laura & Maddalena