The Morning Star Cafe was opened in 1994 by Andy Sessions. The cafe, dubbed Morning Star Espresso, was named for the Tillamook Cheese Factory sailing ship. It began as a small coffee and sandwich shop in a "shotgun" space just to the right of the lobby door in the Postal Building. Over the last decade and a half, The Morning Star has sailed along with a tradition of great sandwiches founded on unique recipies. Every owner since has built on that tradition.

Sally Cobb, the second owner, sends the following history of the restaurant:

My brother Andy Sessions and his wife Kristy started Morning Star Espresso in 1994. Brother in law Ed Wundram designed the cafe, and our brother Chris Sessions built the counters, the bench along the wall, etc....everyone pitched in to get it painted and ready to open.

Morning Star was named for the ship that sits in front of the Tillamook Cheese Factory -- our dad and grandfather helped build that boat.

When we finally opened, it was just Andy, Kristy, me, and any other family members or friends who were available to help out -- even our parents came in to serve sandwiches and espresso -- none of us had any restaurant/espresso/food service experience, and Morning Star quickly became very popular, so it was pretty scary and exciting.

Andy and Kristy's infant daughter, Sophie (who just graduated from high school) was often in her baby swing in the corner, or perched on a counter top in her infant seat. Sophie's Special was named for her. We had a lot of fun coming up with the sandwich recipes and names... "The Sandwich" was named for Prince -- at the time, he was going by "The Artist Formerly Known as Prince", so the roast beef sandwich started as "The Sandwich Formerly Known as Roast Beef", which later became simply "The Sandwich".

I worked for Andy until 1997, when he moved to L.A. to pursue a screenplay-writing career; at that point, my husband George (Ramsey) and I bought the business from Andy. Andy is still writing, but hasn't actually sold a screenplay yet. My son Nick worked for me until he got married and had his first child, Chandler, who is now 11. Chandler spent his entire first year of life as the unofficial mascot of Morning Star Espresso. I babysat him there while his parents both worked full time -- so he was there 6 days a week from open to close, with his playpen next to the couch...lots of people came in to "see the baby".

When my back was fractured in a car accident in 2002, we (reluctantly) sold the business to the Garcias.

So, the cafe was sold to Arnaldo and Cindy Garcia, and sold again to it's current owners of six years, J.D. And Jennifer Ray.

With business booming, The Morning Star outgrew its ability to offer new menu items and serve more customers in its old location. So the cafe has embarked on a new and exciting voyage... reinventing itself and relocating to a new and much bigger space in the Postal Building, opening its new doors in 2009.

The whole new space is custom-designed to allow the cafe to offer so much more. We, the owners and staff, look forward to growing with our Downtown Portland community of friends and business partners. We want to serve our customers the freshest, best quality food and drink while striving to buy increasingly local and seasonal products.

We believe in supporting our local economy, improving the natural environment through sustainable practices, and contributing positively to the lives of our employees and our customers. We hope you feel and taste the love.