Roman Candle Baking Company opens for business today in Portland, Oregon. Stumptown founder Duane Sorenson has teamed up with pastry chef Dan Griffin (formally of Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bakery) to open a bakery, pizza place, and cafe housed in the former Stumptown roastery on Southeast Division Street.

The space marks Sorenson’s fouth bar-raising venture on SE Division. He opened the first Stumptown Coffee Roasters cafe in 1999, on Division and SE 45th. A decade and nine cafes later, he opened Woodsman Tavern and Market next to the original Stumptown in 2011; Ava Gene’s, an inventive and impeccably executed Pacific Northwest Italian bar and restaurant, opened in 2012 just ten blocks south. These restaurants have garnered accolades, plaudits, and a slew of favorable reviews from food critics and blogger-types.

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Roman Candle is a bakery first, and will provide pastry and breads to all Portland Stumptown cafes and Sorenson restaurants. The baked goods are already garnering a reputation here in Portland, with expertly crafted Kouign Amanns and flakey, perfect croissants – Dan Griffin’s a pastry veteran and it shows. “Everything here blows my mind,” Sorenson told Sprudge from behind Roman Candle’s brand new custom La Marzocco Strada. Working alongside his barista staff on bar, Duane calls out a drink: “Quad latte, may it serve you well.

For opening day, Roman Candle is serving up Hairbender espresso and Holler Mountain on drip. Wine, digestifs and aperitivos line the back wall of the space, just above the assortment of breads. For now, the space is serving pastry, coffee, and breads. In a few weeks time, the space will open for lunch and dinner service, including a hotly awaited “pizza bianca” white pie.

Almond croissant, drip coffee, espresso.
Almond croissant, drip coffee, espresso.

Portland Monthly’s Karen Brooks had the scoop first – read all about it in this feature, “What You Need To Know About Roman Candle Bakery.”

Roman Candle Baking Company is located at 3377 SE Division, next to Ava Gene’s and the new third location for Portland boutique ice cream titans Salt & Straw. Roman Candle’s starting hours are 7am-4pm.

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