Member Profile: Café Yumm!
From their humble beginnings in downtown Eugene to being a well-known staple for Pacific Northwesterners across the region, Café Yumm! has stayed true to their mission in delivering fresh, healthy, locally-sourced meals for nearly two decades. In this Member Profile, the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce asked Café Yumm!’s Catering Sales Manager, Kaila Howell, more about their roots and what makes the iconic restaurant a fan-favorite, year after year.
Tell us a little about Café Yumm!
Café Yumm!® restaurants serve delightful food prepared fresh and served FAST with sustainable, organic, and locally-sourced ingredients. A favorite in the Northwest since 1997, the menu includes signature Yumm! Bowls® made famous by Yumm! Sauce®, grilled wraps, unique salads, a kid’s menu, family-style casseroles, and more.
How did you get started in your industry?
In 1991, co-founder Mary Ann Beauchamp opened the Wild Rose Café and Deli inside the Friendly Market in Eugene. In 1993, the café relocated to 5th Street Market as Wild Rose Food Company, which is where the Yumm! Bowl was born. Mary Ann and Mark Beauchamp opened a juice bar next to Wild Rose, but customers began requesting more Yumm! Bowls and Yumm! Sauce than smoothies, so the couple decided to close the juice bar and open the first Café Yumm! restaurant in 1997.
What services do you offer and what makes Café Yumm! unique?
Café Yumm! focuses on serving nourishing, whole food in a cozy atmosphere. We source locally whenever possible and partner with organic family farms in the Northwest. Over 50% of our menu is organic with a focus on high-quality, plant-based options.
Our crowd-pleasing menu is customizable and made to order. We are happy to personalize any dish to be vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, or keto upon request. Also, our 100% vegan Yumm! Sauce is described as “uniquely Northwest” and has become a nostalgic staple around the world. Creamy, tangy, and obsession-worthy – there’s nothing quite like it!
What do you like most about your work?
We love the work of feeding people wholesome food. Our amazing guests are our community, and they have helped us thrive for almost 30 years.
The guiding purpose of our company is “to nourish humanity and the world.” We are deeply connected to the people we serve throughout the Pacific Northwest, and we donate to organizations that share our values, including non-profits that address food insecurity, steward watershed health, and promote active lifestyles.
We center everything we do around our “Triple Bottom Line” which balances the social, environmental, and economic concerns of running a restaurant business. You will find dedication to sustainability throughout our operations. It’s not just a policy, it’s a philosophy.
Anything else you’d like to share?
Whether you make Yumm! Bowls at home with our famous Yumm! Sauce or visit our restaurants, thank you for supporting Café Yumm! throughout the years. We appreciate all of our guests (past, present, and future) and look forward to sharing the next 30 years with you!
About Café Yumm
Café Yumm!® is the state of pure deliciousness contained in simple, nourishing, beautiful food. With their first restaurant opening in 1997, founders Mark and Mary Ann Beauchamp created a uniquely Northwest dining experience. From the ancient food tradition of combining rice and beans, they developed a menu that balances elemental ingredients with a light-hearted sense of fun. The casual atmosphere incorporating warm colors, live plants, and natural materials welcomes peaceful moments of nourishment to blossom.
Seed: It all begins with a seed. The most fundamental form of life, the seed is a symbol of basic nourishment. Café Yumm! starts with these elemental ingredients.
Flame: The flame transforms the seed into satisfying sustenance. Café Yumm! applies energy and passion to create vital new flavors that fuel the soul.
Bowl: The bowl represents a seed’s transformation by flame into abundance. It feeds the body, mind, and soul. Café Yumm! is a gathering place where flavors of many cultures meet ’round a bowl.
Life: Enjoyment brings us full circle. The cyclical nature of life depends on the interrelationship of seed, flame, and bowl. Close your eyes, open your senses, and savor the moment. Visit one of their restaurants to experience the fresh vitality and natural simplicity of Café Yumm!
