After more than 15 years at the helm, Sweet Laurette Cafe & Bistro owner Laurette Feit has put the popular uptown Port Townsend restaurant up for sale.

Feit has long had a passion for working with victims of abuse and domestic violence, having worked in the field in the 1990s. After running the cafe and bistro since 2001 — the past nine of those years solo — she feels it's finally the right time for her to fulfill her longtime dream of becoming an attorney.

"My family is raised and I'm on my own ... I had to decide whether I wanted to be married to the restaurant, or finally fulfill a dream I've had for the last 30 years," she told the Leader July 25. "I'm being called to do this other work."

Feit hopes to attend Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon, ideally starting in the fall of 2018, and plans to become a prosecuting attorney focusing on domestic violence and child abuse cases.

The restaurant is now listed for sale with John L. Scott of Port Townsend. A buyer had approached her earlier this year, she noted. That sale didn't come to fruition, but the offer helped her realize the time might be right to "do the next thing."

Starting out as a mostly wholesale bakery in the space now occupied by 1012 Coffee Bar, Sweet Laurette moved across the street to its current location in 2003.

"It was the same day the [Food] Co-op opened down at the former bowling alley," Feit reminisced. "I made the cakes for the party."

In 2005, the growing restaurant expanded into the dining room space when the Boiler Room, which had previously occupied that space, moved downtown. Feit remodeled the kitchen after the move.

The daily grind of running a restaurant has taken its toll, but Feit is proud of her 15 years of creating community, training young people and supporting local farmers.

"I've created a wonderful, creative space for someone to take over and make their own." She's hopeful that a younger family would buy Sweet Laurette, noting that her girls grew up there, and that it's "really a family restaurant."

Even as change unfolds, the restaurant remains in the spotlight. On June 22, a crew for "Washington Grown," a program aired on PBS, arrived at the restaurant to film for an upcoming episode. It is the show's fourth season, and this episode is set to air in October, producer Dave Tanner said.

The show focuses on Washington's food industry and is broadcast throughout the state, and also reaches Oregon and Idaho.

Tanner, along with cameraman Ryan Rowe and show host Kristi Gorenson, interviewed guests at the restaurant and gathered their thoughts on the food. Meanwhile, Tomas Guzman, the show's director of photography, filmed in the kitchen to shoot select meals being prepared.

The PBS show is not the first media outlet to feature the restaurant. Sweet Laurette's was also on the front page of a Seattle Times travel section. And last year, the restaurant had six pages of coverage in Sunset Magazine.

Feit said she is thrilled to see the years hard work paying off.

"It's really been a joyful experience getting this kind of this press," she said. "I'm very grateful and very humbled."

Even with widespread coverage, Feit said, her business depends on locals, especially during the winter when people aren't traveling as much.

"We couldn't survive here without our locals," she said.

Sweet Laurette Cafe & Bistro, located at 1029 Lawrence St., is open five days a week, Wednesday through Sunday, and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. For more information, visit sweetlaurette.com.