Get your pastry and meet a presidential candidate tomorrow at Hewn

If you're at Hewn tomorrow morning (Saturday) trying to decide between a sticky bun or a brioche, you may run into presidential candidate Deval Patrick mulling the same tough choice.

[Photo of Deval Patrick: (Meg Kinnard/AP)]

According to the Chicago Tribune, Patrick, a Democrat and the former Massachusetts governor, is bringing his new campaign to Chicago this weekend and will be filming a campaign ad here.

Patrick grew up on Chicago's south side and got into the race with the encouragement of Valerie Jarrett, one of President Barack Obama’s key White House advisers.

Tomorrow, according to the Trib, Patrick will visit Hewn, 810 Dempster St., where he’ll tour the business and meet customers. He’ll be there at 9:30 a.m.

I spoke to Hewn co-owner Julie Matthei this morning to find out how Patrick's visit came about.

"I met him many years ago when I was doing some political work and I found him to be very insightful and liked what he had to say," Julie told me.

She followed him through his two terms as Governor of Massachusetts.

[Photo of Julie Matthei: Joel Lerner]

"He's a newcomer, a long-shot, no doubt about it," Julie said. "But I think whenever we have the opportunity to meet someone who can effect change we should take the opportunity to express the challenges we face--as moms, as small-business owners."

When Patrick threw his hat into the ring last month, Julie contacted his campaign office to get some information. That's when they told her that Patrick was headed for Chicago and asked if she'd like to have him visit the bakery.

"A lot of candidates are in Iowa or New Hampshire right now," Julie said. "It's not often that we get to meet someone who's running. I'm interested in this presidential election, as I think most people are," she laughed. "Some people have already decided on their candidate. But I hope people come and learn more about him, and see where it takes you."

If you get the chance to speak to Patrick, what would you want him to hear? What challenges do you face that you'd like to see him address?

Read the Tribune article here.