Adding a new takeout window creates Aioli’s Cafe in downtown Washougal

When Kara Hendrie moved her catering business, Miere Catering, to downtown Washougal in 2023, she didn’t anticipate interest from passersby.

“People are always walking by, and they’re like, ‘Do you guys have anything for us?’ And I’m like, ‘No, just our clients, and no one can come in here,’ ” Hendrie said.

Recently, she decided to change that. Aioli’s Cafe, a takeout window on the south side of Miere Catering at 1801 Main St., Suite 101, opened in early June, offering a variety of breakfast bowls and sandwiches for on-the-go consumption.

“Having something fresh and yummy and seasonal that people can grab and take wherever they want to go is kind of the idea behind it,” Hendrie said.

In addition to breakfast bowls and sandwiches, the menu includes salads, desserts (cookies, cheesecakes and berry shortcakes), Hendrie said.

“I’m not trying to do anything too elevated or overwhelming, but I want it to be worth people’s money and a good experience and something they want to come back to,” she said.

Hendrie said that takeout window format will allow her and cafe manager Emma Albertini to grow Aioli’s Cafe at a slow but steady pace.

“It’s a great way for us to provide food for people,” Hendrie said. “We can keep our other chaos contained inside, and it feels a little separate from the other projects that we’re doing.”

People can grab food, sit and eat outside, or take it for a bite to eat while they’re hiking in the Columbia River Gorge, Hendrie said.

Aioli’s Cafe is currently open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, although Hendrie said “that’s probably going to change” in the near future as wedding season comes to an end.

For more information, visit instagram.com/aiolis cafe.