We'll Miss You

April 21, 2008

Dear Friends,

Today we are closing the doors of PB & Ellie's Café indefinitely.

For the last several years I have had the gift of owning and running this business that has been more than a restaurant, but a dream, both for myself and many others. When I first joined the cafe I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I was a new mother, leaving one career to work part time in a family business towards the goal of a balanced life. I invested money in Peanut Butter & Ellie's as a side project in something that I personally believed but didn't have the time to do on my own... Over time, my part time "day" job had grown into a large full time responsibility. At the same time my involvement in the restaurant grew, first with a move to a new location and then changing drastically when my business partner, the person in charge of daily operations left. Unplanned I found myself with a full time job, a family and a restaurant that was mine alone to run.

For the last several years I have done my best to continue to build this dream, and the more I worked at it, the more it filled my heart. I have grown to deeply love PB & Ellie's, the idea of bringing families together in a place where all members of the family feel nurtured, the importance of feeding ourselves and our children well, the joy of being connected to a community. I found deep satisfaction in the creativity and fun of our events, activity and menus. And I found meaningful challenges in the logistics of business operations. I found wonderful support in staff, customers and the public. I did my very best. We were far from perfect, but we did our best.

But here I was a woman and a mother leading businesses that promote health, nurturance and balance while myself living a life that was deeply off balance. I kept thinking that was OK as long as it was short term. But as "short term" grew into years, I knew I had to find an end. It had to be some day, so that end is today.

I cannot say how much my family and I will miss PB & Ellie's, my team and my customers. I cannot thank you all enough for all the love and support you have shown us, and for sharing your lives and especially your beautiful darling kiddos with us. I truly love you all. I share this detail to explain to those who I know will miss us too.

If you had a goodbye wish, story or thought you'd like to share, please feel free to EMAIL US HERE

As for the future, I hope to continue our fun events calendar, partnering with other locations to host, in addition to continuing to write and speak on good-for-you family eating. As more and more people become aware of the importance of feeding our families well and spending quality time together, the possibilities for the future are endless!!!

Yours Truly,

Heidi
PB & Ellie's Cafe

Tell Us About You

We have a strong commitment to community connections and 100% customer satisfaction. If you had a great experience, please share so we can congratulate our staff. If you had a not so great experience, please share so we can make it better. We really listen to what you have to say: CLICK HERE

Our History

Watching someone walk in to P.B. & Ellie's Cafe for the first time is always a fun experience. Some seem tickled, gazing around, asking "Where did you come up with this idea?". Others seem touched, saying "I've been dreaming of something just like this". Whether it's the high quality, home style food for all ages that defies an industry standard of fried, preprocessed "kids meals", the emphasis on organic, local, natural and other sustainable business choices, the space where kids are engaged and allowed to move around while adults relax, the silliness that abounds in an upside-down bathroom or appetizer that doubles as a checkers game, or the connection to the community, P.B. & Ellie's seems to have tapped in to something todays families are looking for. Whatever that something is, our goal is to help it grow, re-defining what family dining means everywhere.

Our cozy little cafe is the culmination of years of dreams, love, and hearty determination. The original location in NE Portland was 1100 square feet, with 10 picnic tables, a coffee pot, soup warmer, and not much more. An expired lease and the need for more space inspired a move to SW Portland where the business has continued to evolve from an expanded coffee shop into a full-service restaurant. The focus has expanded to address the needs of the moms, dads, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and older siblings in addition to the under 5 set that originally inspired the concept. Over the years it has inspired the contribution of many, from owner operators, to advisors, vendors, lawyers, web designers, community groups and more. And thank goodness for that! The owners didn't have restaurant or business management experience, and quite a bit has been learned through trial and error, and with a whole lot of help!

We hope you enjoy perusing our menu, special events, party packages, community connections and everything else that has made P.B. & Ellie's Cafe so special. Even better, come in for a visit! Whether you've never been or simply haven't been for awhile, we hope you get a sense for our consistent commitment to our core values as well as our consistent commitment to improvement and growth!

The People

P.B.& Ellie's Cafe owned by Heidi Sivers Boyce, a mom, business woman and Oregonian. We have an amazing team of dedicated professionals that truly care about this little home-away-from-home. We also owe our greatest love and appreciation to our beautiful inspirations: our own children and each of the other precious gifts that walk through our door and remind us why we do this.

 

Our Mission Statement

Peanut Butter & Ellie's offers a warm, welcoming environment to both our customers and employees while educating ourselves and others of the implications of our responsibility to children, the community and the world.

We offer fresh, local, organic, natural and other healthier choice foods to children and adults in an effort to support the healthful and educational value of these foods and their origins.

Our mission is to practice sound, profitable business and socially responsible, values-led management while maintaining involvement in the community through the support of the surrounding mixed culture of children and families.

"I think that for people who make anything for children, their first thought should be: Would I want my child to see, hear or touch this? And if the answer is 'no', just don't make it." - Fred (Mister) Rogers