General Info

Helen Bernhard Bakery was established in 1924, beginning, as many bakeries did in those early days, by baking cakes for neighbors and friends. At the time, the Bernhard family lived in the house next to the present shop. Ben Bernhard's father was a minister at Grace Lutheran Church and his mother, Helen, created the cake business as a hobby and an addition to the family's income. Her earliest recipe book, dated September 1923, was written in heavy pencil, its smudges and rewrites showing much trial and error. As business grew, additions were made to the back and side of the old house to accommodate baking and sales demands. Eventually, the family moved one street away and their former home became devoted to the bakery. In 1939, the present bakery building was erected under the supervision and planning of Ben and his mother. Mrs. Bernhard died in 1968, at 86 years old, but had long since sold her business to Ben. Many years later, David, a third generation Bernhard, purchased the bakery and succeeded in keeping the home bakery aspect alive in a busy retail bakery In 1988, David Bernhard sold the bakery to Richard and Mary Laufer, local bakery owners, who have devoted their lives to family and baking. The bakery has seen many changes in it's over 80 years of existence, but amid all those changes, the home bakery feeling still remains. Helen Bernhard Bakery has been providing top quality baked goods to the Portland area since 1924. We carry a great selection of wedding cakes, cakes, pastries, breads, pies, cookies and a variety of specialty baked goods such as challah, Nanamio and many other tasty treats.