'Yum, what is this?': Café Yumm! co-founder remembered for culinary boldness

Before it became the iconic restaurant chain Café Yumm!, founder Mark Beauchamp still remembers the amazement from customers who tried the signature sauce created by his wife and restaurant co-owner, Mary Ann Beauchamp.

“I would take people to lunch at Wild Rose Café & Deli, and I would say, ‘Watch this,’ and we would see Mary Ann give somebody a sample, and the guest’s reaction was always, ‘Yum, what is this?'”

That “yum” reaction eventually led to the name of their business, which now has over 20 locations in Oregon, Idaho and Washington state.

Mary Ann died July 26 at age 71. In an interview with The Register-Guard, her husband discussed how she shaped the business through her eclectic food, friendly personality and the company's slogan to “nourish humanity and the world.”

“She made me feel like I was the only other person in the room,” said Marne Dunder, the director of marketing and communications for Café Yumm!

The company declined to discuss the circumstances of her death but did say it was unexpected and sudden.

Connecting different cultures

Mary Ann lived in many countries and absorbed each one's food culture growing up.

She was born in Japan in 1950 to a Japanese mother and American father in the military, and would later move around to Italy, California and North Carolina, before her father retired and they ended up in Delta Junction, Alaska, in 1960.

Mary Ann attended the University of Alaska Fairbanks and met Mark in 1972 while there.

She was fascinated with local cuisine in the many places she lived, and it helped influence her future cooking, her husband said.

While in grade school in Alaska, she would sometimes trade her white bread, bologna sandwiches with Native American students for their smoked salmon on whole wheat.

Her different inspirations have defined what made Café Yumm!’s food special, Mark said.

“You can tell there's an influence there, but it's this blend of colors and flavors and textures that she was sensitive to and brought it to people in a format where they'd say, 'I've never tasted anything like this,'” he said. “Her food brain would go places that others might not try or think about on their own.”

After she, Mark and their daughter moved to Eugene in 1986, the two opened the Wild Rose Café & Deli and she began experimenting by combining different ingredients in a blender to make a sauce, Mark said.

For close to a year, Mary Ann worked and refined what was just called “the sauce” at the time, and it soon became a signature part of their business. Years later, “Yumm! Sauce” has become a favorite among Eugeneans and elsewhere.

Mark later started an organic juice bar in Eugene that he said didn’t have much success, so the couple decided to add Mary Ann’s rice and bean dish with the special sauce, and decided on renaming the juice bar Café Yumm!

The change was a hit, and the couple closed the juice bar and transformed the Wild Rose space into a larger restaurant for Café Yumm! The first location opened in 1997.

Lasting legacy

Along with key decisions and features for the restaurants, like having live plants inside, Mark said Mary Ann’s kind personality also made a permanent impact on the business and how they treat customers.

She was “the kindest, warmest, friendliest person,” Mark said, and someone who could strike up a conversation with anyone.

“She would pull them into this discussion, and it was almost hypnotic, especially with women,” Mark said. “She was friendly with everyone, and women would just glom onto her and just adore her.”

The company’s goal of “nourishing” the world was also created by her, and Mark said they try to teach employees to express a similar kindness.

"She said that's what she wanted to do. She wanted to nourish people," Mark said. "And she wanted to grow this as big as we can.”

A tribute to Mary Ann by the company is online at cafeyumm.com/maryann and includes the option to submit favorite memories of Mary Ann at cafe-yumm.contact-us.app.

Louis Krauss covers breaking news for The Register-Guard. Contact him at lkrauss@registerguard.com or 541-521-2498, and follow him on Twitter @LouisKraussNews.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Café Yumm! co-founder remembered for signature sauce, culinary vision