Dogs find French bakery ‘tres bien’

Local bakery uses French words, ambience to create a fun experience for dogs and owners

By Jim Hart

The West Linn Tidings, Mar 1, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (1 Reader comment)

Jim Hart / West Linn Tidings

With typical French elegance, Cindy Clunes-Noack offers healthy treats on a silver platter to a quartet of canine followers, from left, “Cleopatra,” a white boxer licking her chops; “Cesar,” a fawn boxer, hiding behind boxers’ owner Jeffrey Ervin; “Duncan,” a Wheaton Scotch Terrier, sitting patiently at the order of owner Dana Barron; and “Raindrop,” a Boston Terrier, showing enthusiasm for the tasty treats but restrained by owner Diane Gruber. This scene took place inside one of West Linn’s newest businesses: Bone-Jour Gour-Mutt Bakery and Boutique.

ADVERTISEMENTS

It took Cindy Clunes-Noack nearly 14 years as a business development specialist to realize that her real passion was for dogs, not office work.

The West Linn resident had been spoiling her dog, “Duffy,” a wire fox terrier with treats that she would bake at home.

But soon the word got out, and her friends started asking if she would bake some for their dogs.

That’s when she felt an urge to make her passion of caring for dogs into a business.

The time she had spent learning how to bake and cook at a beach resort in the summers during her college years gave her the confidence that she could produce something that many dogs would find tasty.

But to make a place that dogs and their owners would find appealing, her idea was to create an imitation of France, right here in West Linn.

That’s when Bone-Jour Gour-Mutt Bakery and Boutique became more than just an idea. It became a store in West Linn’s Central Village.

“We’re trying to replicate a little French bakery,” Clunes-Noack said, “with a play on words on the treats. We’re offering a fun experience for dogs and their owners.”

It’s no wonder that some of the offerings inside the lighted glass display cases are so tempting to the canines that walk through the door that is accented with dog-bone handles.

1 | 2 Next Page >>