Bringing your kids out to eat or to bop along to live musicians in a play café is a near-essential part of parenting in Portland, especially during the long, rainy winters. But as beloved as family-friendly eateries are in this gastro-first city, many of us can’t fathom everything that goes into running a family-first establishment.
So we gathered the owners of three of our favorite local family-focused joints to get the behind-the-scenes lowdown on running a business that welcomes some of the industry’s toughest customers: parents and kids.
Pull up a chair with three of the city’s pillar businesswomen and nibble on their insights, from how they really see your kids to what you should do about the giant mess under the table. (The answer might surprise you!)
Our experts: Lisa Schroeder, founder and head chef at Mother’s Bistro in downtown Portland; grandmother to Bella, 14; Taylor, 13; and fraternal twins Julian and Oliver, 5…