About Us

Hello! We are Mary, Max, Brendan & Jenny
Mary O’Rourke Mary O’Rourke
The Story of the Waffle Window began back in 2006 when Mary decided that her two sons, Max and Brendan, should have the opportunity to travel the world. Soon her boys headed off to start a month long journey around Europe. While staying with their Aunt and Uncle in Amsterdam her sons were captivated by the people, the history and of course the food. Among the many new and exciting things that they tried, one item stood out above the rest; the Waffles. On one of the first phone calls Mary received from the boys, her son Brendan (a lifelong aficionado of breakfast foods) said “Mom, the waffles over here are incredible! We are definitely bringing some back for you, because you have to figure out how to make these!”
Max Fishback
With over 30 years as a professional pastry chef (and a lifelong passion for new and interesting foods) Mary eagerly set herself to the challenge of discovering the secrets to these amazing treats. After much research she discovered that what her sons had eaten were Liege sugar waffles, a traditional street food across northwestern Europe. Mary was soon in the kitchen of her husband’s restaurant (Bread and Ink Cafe on SE Hawthorne Blvd in Portland, OR) trying out every sort of recipe she could find for the Liege sugar waffle. As she followed these recipes she soon began to realize that she did not just want to recreate a waffle from Europe, she wanted to create a new type of waffle all together. After several weeks of testing (and sourcing hard to find ingredients) she began to hone in on a truly unique waffle, similar to a traditional Liege style sugar waffle, but with her own secret twists. Success! But what to do with this new kind of waffle…
Brendan Fishback Brendan Fishback
In the Summer of 2007 inspiration struck while Mary was at her husband’s restaurant. There was a long forgotten service door on the side of the building which she always thought could be put to better use, but nothing had really called to her. Then she thought to her self “Old service door…useless. Waffles… fast, fun, delicious… OF COURSE!” So her son Brendan set to work converting that old door into a fun Dutch style Door/Window and the Waffle Window was born! We are so excited to be celebrating 10 years since we opened our original Window. We are still overwhelmed by the wonderful response to our waffles. Through all of her years as a pastry chef, Mary never imagined she would have a Waffle Window or that she would have so much fun making up waffle creations. She also never imagined that she would partner with her sons and start a family business. But here we are! We know you will enjoy eating our creations as much as we enjoy making them, so stop on by and give it a try!

1 thought on “About Us”

  • I have to visit Waffle Window whenever we visit family in Portland! I didn’t know about the history and method of Liège waffles until recently. I’ve been moderately successful making my own, but they do not compare to yours!

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