Eric Lester

Pearl Bakery’s President, Eric Lester, experienced firsthand the foundations of food service, sound business management and many of the guiding principles that would later help chart the course of the bakery during his formative years in the 1970’s in New Mexico.

Flipping burgers at the locally owned Hank’s A&W in Alamogordo was the first “real” job for Eric. During this time (as a freshman in Mr. Parson’s high school class) he was introduced to sustainable practices such as recycling aluminum cans and reusing paper grocery bags. As a senior in high school, his awareness was increased as a student in Mr. Hammond’s Environmental Ecology class where plant habitat and earth conservation was taught. While studying business at college, Eric found full-time employment as a dairy and frozen food manager with Owen’s Parkway, a grocery store in Portales.

Before leaving New Mexico in the early 1980’s, Eric received his MBA from Eastern New Mexico University and would soon move to Oregon becoming a licensed CPA working with locally owned restaurant and bakery clients.

In the mid 1990’s, he would combine efforts with an artisan bread baker and a retail manager formerly with Nature’s Fresh NW, to open Pearl Bakery in February 1997. Since that time, Eric’s contribution to the bakery as President has brought continued growth and today he remains the sole founder and co-owner alongside his wife, Mary.

Eric is fascinated by family roots and loves traveling the continent (and the Internet) conducting deep searches for genealogical histories. He cherishes free time spent with family, including his parents, three grown children, and two  grandchildren.

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John Woosley

John is the Sales Manager for Pearl Bakery, nurturing the many relationships with Pearl’s wholesale customers and retail guests. He developed a taste for artisan breads while working at Wildwood Restaurant, and was eventually  drawn to Pearl Bakery’s quality baked goods and friendly, unpretentious style.  He started with us in 2003 as a barista and part-time driver, but it didn’t take long for him to move into the position of Retail Manager.   John’s attention to detail and knack for great service are a great asset to the bakery.

Born and raised in Wisconsin, John moved to Chicago in his early twenties and became immersed in its food and music scenes. He worked in Chicago restaurants for eight years before moving to Portland.  John is a music aficionado and avid record collector.  He cherishes time spent at home with his family, reading picture books to his four year old daughter, or gardening with his wife, Pamela – who can herself be found helping Mary Lester run the Pearl Bakery booth at the Portland Farmers Market.

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Santos Llanes

Santos started working at Pearl Bakery in 2000, and has since worked in almost every department. Now as the Plant manager, Santos oversees daily operations at the Pearl. Even though he’s busy supervising our wholesale bread packing and directing the sanitation crew, Santos still finds himself helping in other departments. On any given day you can find him scooping cookies, shaping bread, or assembling sandwiches.

Santos moved to Portland after living his entire life in Chumayel, Mexico on the Yucatan pennisula. Working as a pharmacist assistant, Santos left to fulfill his dream of learning English. Now fluent in English, Santos is actually tri-lingual – he also speaks his native language, Mayan of the Yucatan.

Outside of the bakery, you can find Santos frequenting shows of his favorite bands, local musicians Pink Martini and March Fourth Marching Band.

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introducing: Jared Lester

Pearl Bakery’s production manager and native Oregonian, Jared Lester, brings a refreshing balance of enthusiasm, wit, and focus to our operations. Jared worked throughout high school at the bakery, helping out on the bread bench, with wholesale packing and at the retail counter. It was during this time that he learned the basics of bread baking from former Pearl production manager Tim Healea.

After obtaining a degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Oregon State University, Jared’s father, Eric Lester, persuaded him to return to the fold. Starting with viennoiserie and expanding his knowledge of breads, he became quickly immersed in the art and science of hand-craft baking.  Jared brings the scientific method into the baking environment to improve efficiency while carefully broadening our product line.

Jared is proud of Pearl Bakery’s commitment to sustainable practices, as this was a primary area of his study in school. He lives out of the city with his wife and three dogs, and dreams of converting his property to a self-sufficient, “off-the-grid” home. If not at work, you can most likely find him tending to his garden or checking on his multiple bee colonies.