A little bakery with a big heart — and a very serious butter budget.
The Sweet Escape started the way most great things do — out of necessity and love.
In 2018, founder Claire Moreau was baking croissants at 5am in her Hawthorne apartment because she couldn't find anything in Portland that matched what she remembered from her grandmother's kitchen in Lyon. A few neighbors noticed the smell. Then a few more. Within six months, there was a waitlist.
Today The Sweet Escape operates out of a 1,400 sq ft shop on Maple Street, employs a team of eight passionate bakers, and produces over 300 individual items every single morning — each one made from scratch, with real butter, local eggs, and zero shortcuts.
We believe a great pastry isn't just food — it's a small moment of joy in an otherwise hectic day. That's the escape we're after.
Explore Our MenuThe principles behind every loaf, every cake, every croissant.
We source over 85% of our ingredients from farms within 50 miles of Portland. Our eggs come from Springwater Farm in Estacada, our butter from Umpqua Dairy, and our fruit from the Portland Farmers Market.
Our croissant dough ferments for 48 hours. Our sourdough starter is seven years old. We don't use preservatives, improvers, or pre-mixes. Good bread takes time, and we respect that.
Anything not sold by close of day is donated to Central City Concern or composted through our partnership with Urban Farm Fermentory. We're at 96% diversion — and working on the last 4%.
We sponsor the Maple Street Block Party, donate custom cakes to school fundraisers, and offer a standing 20% discount for neighbors who visit on foot or by bike.
We've been offered wholesale accounts at four local grocers. We've turned them all down. Our quality depends on doing everything in-house, in small batches, under the same roof.
Our menu rotates with the calendar. Strawberries in June, persimmons in November, blood orange in January. We never use out-of-season produce, and we think it shows.
Eight people show up before sunrise every day so your morning is a little sweeter.
Trained at École Ferrandi in Paris. 14 years of professional baking before opening The Sweet Escape. Specializes in laminated doughs and celebration cakes.
Former sous-chef at Le Pigeon. Marcus runs the pastry program and is responsible for the rotating seasonal tart menu that sells out before 9am on weekends.
Self-taught sourdough obsessive who joined in 2020. Priya manages all naturally leavened breads and has maintained our starter since the day she arrived.