University in 2006, and working in the tribal shellfish hatchery for the Lummi Natural Resources Department. She also worked at the Willows Inn from 2004-’07, acquiring business acumen germane to her business now. “Restaurant experience,” she said, “provides understanding of the changes in the shellfish market – the desires and trends.”
“There’s capacity for selling 10 million geoducks a year to farmers in Washington state, because the few suppliers haven’t met the demand.” – Leah Paisano, owner, Legoe Bay Shellfish
She came to this area from McMinnville, Ore., after growing up in northern Arizona. She is a registered member of the San Carlos Ndeh (Apache) Nation based in Arizona. “My grandfather,” she said, “was from the Laguna Pueblo of New Mexico. Paisano means Roadrunner in the local dialect.” Leah has an uncle in Bellingham who has served as an engineer on the Lummi Shore project, her link to moving Southwest to Northwest to attend Western and to discovering Lummi Island. The business idea hatched (forgive the pun) while she was on a road trip, a hike. She knew of a vacated facility – Leo’s Live Seafood where crab, spot prawns, et al, had been an island staple many years. “I know how to grow shellfish,” she said. “And, I knew the market was strong. There’s capacity for selling 10 million geoducks a year to farmers in Washington state, because the few suppliers haven’t met the demand.” Friends, like reefnet fisher Ian Kirouac and two other partners,
Leah Paisano carries the load at Lummi Island Shellfish with one employee, and part-time help during harvests. Investors helped fund her minority startup, i.e., she’s a woman, and she’s a registered member of the Apache Nation in Arizona, and she received mentoring from the Northwest Innovation Resource Center.
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