Meet The New Artworks Building Café Owners

Cheryl Helm and Chris Lohman, looking forward to bringing fresh, local fare to their new café at the Artworks Building.

 — by Madie Murray —

Though the name is yet to be determined, Cheryl Helm and Chris Lohman are a very determined twosome who are the owners and operators of the new café to be located in the Artworks Building when it reopens. “We couldn’t be more excited about these two young people,” says Patsy Stephens, president of the Olga Strawberry Council (OSC.)

Chris and Cheryl’s Mission Statement reads “To create a warm, friendly gathering place for islanders and visitors to enjoy art and quality, nourishing food that highlights the seasons and abundance of the islands.” They want their customers to “never be bored” with what will be on their menu consisting of fresh breakfasts featuring plenty of “comfort food” and a great cup of coffee, and lunches that will include many favorites as well as rotating items based on what Island farms are producing.

You might recognize Cheryl if you’ve dined at Rose’s. She graduated from Culinary Arts School in 2000 from Orange Coast College in Southern California. It was her interest in farming and homesteading that originally brought her to Orcas in 2006 to intern at the Bullock’s Permaculture Homestead. She worked at Rose’s from 2006 to 2010 then moved to Portland OR where she completed a Holistic Nutrition Program at the Wellspring School. In January of this year, Orcas called her back and she started working again at Rose’s and also operates the Bramble Berry Farm located on the Youngren property.

Chris graduated from Culinary Arts School in 1999 at Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute. He was Chef and Kitchen Manager of the Gold Street Café in Albuquerque until he moved to Portland and worked as Chef of the Brasserie Montmarte from 2002 to 2004. In 2004, he relocated to and fell in love with Orcas Island where he worked as Sous Chef under Christina Orchid at Christina’s until 2006, then joined the Rose’s team until 2009 where he first met and worked with Cheryl. He, like Cheryl, moved away from Orcas in 2009 and went to San Francisco to work at Incanto and Contigo before moving on to manage the Fatted Calf, a butcher charcuterie shop. He moved back to Orcas in June of this year to “pursue culinary dreams.”

Serendipity reconnected Cheryl and Chris on Orcas; and equally serendipitous was the timing and need for a new café in the Artworks Building. Needless to say, the members of the Olga Strawberry Council Board are fully behind Cheryl and Chris and working closely with them to create the “gathering place” of their dreams.

Olga Strawberry Council, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, owns and operates the historic strawberry barreling plant in Olga commonly referred to the Artworks Building severely burned in an arson fire in July of 2013. The restoration is scheduled to be completed in January of 2015, at which time the Artworks Cooperative and Hardman Gallery will be returning, and the new café will be opening.