Before Portland became an innovative hotspot for delicious food, the original Papa Haydn opened it's doors to the public. It was the first restaurant in town to have an expresso machine. More importantly, were the delicious handmade cakes offered to go with each cup of coffee or compliment the meal.
“Our parents always baked. Having coffee and a slice of dessert in the afternoon, always finishing a meal with a slice of something sweet, is the tradition that truly inspired Papa Haydn,” Evelyn, Papa Haydn’s dessert maestro.
Evelyn and her sister, Heidi, moved to Portland with their parents, Bernhard and Hildegarde Franz, in 1965 to escape the shadow of Communism in East Germany. Years later, motivated by their family traditions, Heidi and her husband Jeff followed their dream of opening a café and started the first Papa Haydn on SE Milwakie in 1978.
“I was a sculptor and artist in residence at Lincoln High School, but I joined the business in 1980 "just for a year,” Evelyn says. She was happy to help her sister and her husband at the restaurant. “I realized that chocolate, sugar and the enormous abundance of fresh Pacific Northwest fruits were just three more mediums with which I could sculpt.”
As the business grew and prospered, Evelyn’s supposedly short stint with her sister turned into over 35 years of working together to grow Papa Haydn. Although chocolate had always been a part of her life and her memories, the tipping point in her love for it began when she joined the Papa Haydn team.
“I began to see the bakery as my studio. It was this “eureka” moment that really grabbed me and still inspires our bakery today," Evelyn says.
She and the rest of the team at Papa Haydn are known for filling the dessert display case with irresistible treats such as the Café au Chocolat, a cappuccino brownie with milk chocolate espresso mousse, crunchy croquant and dark chocolate espresso ganache.
“The most rewarding and challenging part(s) of our business is the same thing: we seek to feed, serve and nourish our guests in such a manner that we become a treasured part of their lives," says Evelyn.
When the Second Papa Haydn location opened on NW 23rd Avenue in 1983, Evelyn remembers a couple who brought their 13 year old daughter into the restaurant after her gymnastics class. The little girl would do her homework and the family would share dinner and dessert.