Beyond City Hall: Mayor Joe Buck's Three Lake Oswego Restaurants
Updated: 26m
Our Lake Oswego Mayor, Joe Buck, is also the owner of three favorite local restaurants: Lola's Cafe, Gubanc's Pub and Babica Hen. Each has its own personality, distinctive menu and loyal following.
Joe Buck serves us as our Mayor (a time-intensive VOLUNTEER job) and also as a restaurateur.
And now, with the opening of Lola's Cafe at Portland International Airport (PDX), one of Lake Oswego's favorite restaurants has a branch somewhere else most of us go: the airport.
Fresh from Lake Oswego! Mayor Joe Buck Takes Lola's to PDX
Congratulations to Joe Buck on opening this new Lola's location!
It made me proud to see "Fresh from Lake Oswego" at the airport. It's also nice to know I can count on finding fresh, healthy food options whether I'm flying out of PDX or coming home.
The "original" downtown LO Lola's restaurant is beloved by friends (mostly women) who are gluten free and want to eat healthy, fresh foods. I've personally experienced dining there with friends and seen that special orders do not upset the wait staff.
I personally love all the vegetarian menu items with the option to add protein. And the Chai Latte which is not on the menu but something they will happily make.
The website further clarifies: "Our menu highlights fresh and nutritious ingredients designed to fuel you through the day and is especially friendly to allergy-specific diets including vegetarian, vegan, dairy-free and gluten-free."
What I didn't realize until I read the website was this: they serve more than coffee and smoothies. "our craft cocktail and mocktail bar, draft beer and local wines feature the best of local brands and create an all-day gathering place for our everyone in our community." Fun! I always thought of Lola's someplace to go for breakfast, brunch or lunch. Looks like there's now another reason to visit.
After reading this post, Mayor Buck sent me this note: "It's great seeing the number of visitors at pdx asking about Lake Oswego (and of course all the neighbors who love seeing a piece of home!)."
Quite an impressive pivot for Joe Buck to create Lola's after his other very different restaurants in LO: Gubanc's and Babica Hen.
Gubanc's Pub: A Lake Oswego Tradition
For me, Gubanc's equals "comfort food". I love to go there in the cold months for mushroom soup and salad while sitting in a booth with friends enjoying a variety of foods they find familiar and comforting: bacon wrapped meatloaf, grilled Ruben sandwiches, steak bites, pot roast. Also great salads and different soups each day.
See the menu: https://www.gubancspub.com/menu/
Interesting story about Gubanc's history. From their website,
"Back in 1976 when the restaurant opened in Lake Oswego, you’d find Anne Gubanc in the kitchen stirring up one of her signature soups, and her husband Tony displaying the sandwich skills he’d picked up at The Deluxe, a bar they owned in Butte, Montana before making their way to Oregon.
The Gubanc’s believed in treating their customers like family—cooking them delicious from-scratch meals using local, fresh, organic ingredients—a philosophy their children and grandchildren continue to live by. (The pub continues to serve Anne’s rich Cream of Mushroom Soup every Friday, a tradition our customers have come to love.)
For over four decades, it has been our pleasure to serve generations of families, and we feel equally as privileged to welcome newcomers as we do to serve our long-time friends.
Just like Anne and Tony before us, we believe that as a small Oregon business, it’s our duty to support folks like us, which is why we’re dedicated to using local vendors and fresh, Pacific- Northwest sourced ingredients whenever seasons and availability allow.
After three generations of ownership and management, we’re still honored every day to bring families and friends together for a comforting meal in a timeless atmosphere. We’re committed to providing every customer with great good and even better service, and we welcome your comments and questions."
Gubanc's is at 16008 Boones Ferry Rd. in Lake Oswego.
Babica Hen: known for high fat, high taste breakfast and brunch
I remember when Joe opened Babica Hen next door to Gubanc's. My sons were the ones who first told me about it. They had friends from high school working there and kept hearing about the incredible French toast, pancakes and bacon. They would often ask, "Can we go after church, Mom?" Apparently, we weren't the only family with that idea!
Babica Hen has its own charming story, inspired by Joe's grandmother's kitchen:
"In my grandmother’s kitchen sat a hen. Not a real hen of course, not even a hen with legs or little feet. But this hen had a heart, a heart reflective of the love and care that touched all culinary pursuits originating in that kitchen. The hen relentlessly eyed that kitchen as only an inanimate hen can, with all its smells, the conversations, the people, the food. Now the babica hen lends its vigilance to our kitchens that serve you, our guests, fresh, from-scratch food sourcing the bounty of the northwest and prepared with care and, of course, with heart. Welcome, it’s our pleasure to serve you. ♥ Joe & The Babica Team"
Babica Hen is open for breakfast and brunch Tuesday - Sunday • 8am – 2pm.
Babica Hen is also available for private events. The website gives more information about this: "Babica Hen puts on fabulous private events in the evenings for all types of social and business occasions. From birthday celebrations and holiday gatherings to seminars and company events either of our locations is the perfect atmosphere for an amazing time with your friends, family, colleagues and customers. We work with you to provide a custom event suited to your needs. We also have meeting space available weekday mornings."
Babica Hen is at 15964 Boones Ferry Rd, Lake Oswego, OR 97035
Three Restaurants, Three Different Experiences
It's impressive to see how Joe Buck has developed three distinct restaurant concepts in Lake Oswego.
Lola's Cafe: Fresh, healthy food, coffee, smoothies and now cocktails and more, with a new location at PDX.
Gubanc's Pub: A longtime Lake Oswego tradition for comfort food, familiar favorites and family hospitality.
Babica Hen: A welcoming breakfast and brunch destination, with private event opportunities as well.
Each has something different to offer, and each reflects a commitment to food, hospitality and bringing people together.
So congratulations to Joe Buck and his teams on continuing to grow these businesses. And next time you're deciding where to meet friends, enjoy breakfast or find a comforting bowl of soup, consider one of these Lake Oswego restaurants.
And if you're flying out of PDX, look for that sign: "Fresh from Lake Oswego!"
City Councilor Elect Bryan Guiney read this post and sent me this photo with his daughter. Maximum cuteness!
Hey, if you have a photo in front of Lola's "Fresh from Lake Oswego" send it to me and I'll post it. Info@OldTownLakeOswego.org
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