Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Schroeder.
Hi Lisa, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I always thought I wanted to be a doctor or lawyer, but then life happened. I moved to Israel for college and married at 19. I became pregnant and moved back to America at the age of 21. My then husband was in and out of businesses, so I got jobs in marketing to make extra money to pay the bills. I came to a crossroad where in order to grow, I either had to get an MBA, pursue a Law degree, or follow my passion and go to cooking school. After another 13th hour at my marketing job at Weight Watchers International, I was trying to figure out what to do for dinner for the family. I realized that while I could get Chinese, Mexican or pizza, there was no place to get “mother food,” the kind of food a mother would make for her family, if only she had the time. Braised dishes, mashed potatoes, biscuits. That’s when I knew I had to go to cooking school and open a restaurant called “Mother’s.” And then life happened. My 13 year-old daughter decided she wanted to go live with her father, I got laid off as Products and Licensing Manager at Weight Watchers International and my husband had an affair with my best friend. Basically, life pushed me to follow my passion…cooking. I went to The Culinary Institute of America at the age of 33, worked in four star restaurants in New York and France, such as Lespinasse and Le Cirque. I moved to Oregon to be near my husband-to-be, was a chef for a small bistro called Besaw’s, and opened Mother’s in January 2000. I authored a cookbook called “Mother’s Best” and have appeared on Good Morning America, Opening Soon, Roker on the Road among other shows.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Nothing in my life has come easy. I always try to make lemonade from the lemons I’ve been handed. I’ve been working since I’m 12 years old. When my daughter was a baby. I pursued my B.A. while simultaneously working full time. When I got laid off from my job at Weight Watchers, my daughter moved in with her dad and my husband had an affair, I took it as the atom bomb I needed to pursue my passion and went to cooking school. When I graduated, my daughter moved back in with me. In order to afford our in a tiny NYC apartment, I worked two jobs, 90 hours a week, 6 days a week for a year. I met a wonderful man and moved to Oregon to be near him, knowing I’d open up the restaurant of my dreams in a city other than New York, and Portland seemed perfect. Five years later I opened Mother’s Bistro & Bar with the help of my daughter. We were so successful. I opened an Italian restaurant called Mama Mia Trattoria four years later a few doors down. I came to realize that two restaurants meant I had no life other than work, so sold the Italian restaurant 6 years later and focused on Mother’s. Sadly, my daughter died in a hiking accident at the age of 36 in 2016 and I’ve been helping raise her 4 children ever since. Her son and daughter are now 18 and 19, and her twin 10 year old boys live with me and my husband.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Mother’s Bistro & Bar?
Mother’s Bistro & Bar is a a very unique restaurant in this cluttered culinary world. You can find hundreds of restaurants serving pizza, Italian, Chinese or Thai food, but nowhere is there a place that serves international “Mother” food. We are the only restaurant I know of that that serves home cooking from mothers around the world. Foods that take hours to prepare, made with love, from scratch, using classic culinary techniques. Dishes like pierogi, matzoh ball soup, pot roast and chicken fried chicken. In addition, we feature the cuisine of a different mother each month (the M.O.M.), tell her story and serve some of her favorite dishes.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Perseverance. I am faced with numerous hurdles every day and I just tough it through. Two phrases come to mind: “What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger” and G-d doesn’t give me more than I can handle,” I face adversity head on and find positive solutions.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mothersbistro.com
- Instagram: instagram/mothersbistro
- Facebook: facebook/mothersbistro
- Twitter: twitter/mothersbistro
Image Credits
Sarah Griffow Photography Angela Dawn Photography Pete Eckert of Eckert & Eckert Photography”.
