Fresh Food for the Summer Season

Smoothies bursting with flavor. Craft wraps and sandwiches made with locally sourced ingredients. Fresh pressed juices. For 27 years, Mother’s Juice Cafe has served the Bend public. The Source sat down with Renee Raymond, executive chef and new owner of the Bend staple to learn about the best menu items, recent changes to the business, and ingredient sourcing.

Raymond says that she was the “…face of Mother’s before being the face of Mother’s,” for the last 12 years. As executive chef, Raymond curated menu items while greeting customers with a broad smile at the front counter. Over her time at Mother’s, her menu favorites have stayed consistent. The wheatgrass smoothie with mint and spinach has been a staple of hers, with the Grains and Greens bowl being a close second. One of the goals at Mother’s is to source as locally as possible, says Raymond. Working in conjunction with Portland’s Organically Grown, Childers Meat, Broadus Bees and more, all menu items are guaranteed to be fresh. Raymond tells the Source that in the coming months the restaurant will be moving to a smaller core menu while creating a host of specials that will rotate frequently, providing cafe regulars with new and exciting options.

The upcoming changes are part of a restructuring the Cafe has been in the heat of over the last few months. Following her purchase of the restaurant in July, 2025, Raymond made the difficult decision to close the east side location earlier this year, a decision she says is good for the business’s future.

“It’s a good thing combining our efforts into one home — it was time,” says Raymond. With Costco and the library’s location change, a smaller contingent of customers were flowing into the east side complex. In conjunction with a lease expiration and rising rent and supply costs, the decision to close the east side doors was made. With over half of employees transferring to the west side location on Galveston, the Cafe is well equipped for the summer rush.

Open from 8 am-3 pm seven days a week, there’s plenty of time to try out the upcoming menu items while enjoying the airy patio in the summer sun.