Jan and Paul Bergman laughingly call themselves "the accidental restaurateurs." In 1998, when they first had the idea of opening a bakery in their hometown of Two Harbors, the thought of operating a restaurant had never crossed their minds. When they found what seemed to be the perfect location for a bakery, part of the building had previously been a cafe. They went ahead and built their bakery in one-half of the building and decided they'd give the cafe business a try. "We were fortunate to have several food industry friends willing to mentor us along the way," they explain. The Bergman's established their criteria - fresh, flavorful food we would proudly serve to guests in our home, offered in a casual, welcoming, smoke-free atmosphere with friendly hometown service - then took a deep breath and opened the doors.

That criterion has stood the test of time. "Our business has slowly grown by word of mouth. We even have customer who drive all the way from the Twin Cities on SUnday morning just for our oven-baked omlets," Jan says. Although the dinner menu has changed over the years our pan-fried walleye and fresh Lake Superior herring has been favorite entrees since the Vanilla Bean opened. Another specialty is their signature Chicken Wild Rice soup that won the Best Soup Award from the Minnesota Monthly readers. All our soups, salads, sauces an dressings are made right here. The most popular dessert is carmel pecan bread pudding with burnt sugar caramel sauce.

For the Bergman's it's been an unbelievable journey. Now into their tenth year, Jan says, "The risk was worth it. We really love pleasing our customers. There's nothing so satisfying as hearing diners tell us they've eaten all over the world and our food is some of the best they've ever tasted."