# Botanical Bakeshop

Botanical Bakeshop is the collective name of the plant shop Daphne's Botanicals and the bakery Shop Halo Halo, which operate from a shared space in the Novus Apartments, a mixed-use development in the Woodstock neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. Daphne Peters opened Daphne's Botanicals in March 2023, and Geleen Abenoja opened Shop Halo Halo on June 10. The two Filipina-owned businesses intend to serve as a community hub for the local Filipino community. The bakery's Filipino cuisine such as bibingka, biko, cassava cakes, and pandesal has garnered a positive reception.

## Description

Portland Monthly has described Botanical Bakeshop as a "hybrid" bakery and plant shop. The space shared by Daphne's Botanicals and Shop Halo Halo, intended to serve as a community hub for the local Filipino community, has a living plant wall, wood paneling of various colors, rattan ceiling lamps, and a seating area. Botanical Bakeshop operates from the Novus Apartments, a four-story, 84-unit mixed-use development on Woodstock Boulevard at the intersection of 50th Avenue in southeast Portland's Woodstock neighborhood.

### Daphne's Botanicals

In addition to houseplants, Daphne's Botanicals offers "houseplant design service". Customers can create their own terrariums on site and the shop hosts plant workshops.

### Shop Halo Halo

The Oregonian and Eater Portland have described Shop Halo Halo as a Filipino bakery and coffee shop. The owner has described the interior as a "warm, living and breathing space” with foliage and other natural features to "pay homage to [her] family's ancestral land between the sea and the mountains". The menu includes orange glazed cardamom buns, lavender calamansi shortbread, salted tahini chocolate chip cookies, ube cheese pandesal, and various vegan cheesecakes with fruit such as lilikoi and passionfruit. Shop Halo Halo also serves bibingka, biko, black sesame butter mochis, and cassava cakes. The drink menu includes barako cold brew with pandan cheese foam, guava lime spritzers, and matcha lattes.

## History

The Novus Apartments development was designed by Kyle Rodrigues of Scott Edwards Architecture. Construction took place from June 2021 to December 2022 at a cost of $24 million.
Daphne Peters opened Daphne's Botanicals in March 2023. Geleen Abenoja opened Shop Halo Halo on June 10, 2023. Before moving into the Novus Apartments, Abenoja operated the business as a pop-up restaurant. She launched a GoFundMe campaign in an effort to raise $75,000 for the bakery's start-up costs, permits, construction, and kitchen equipment, and hosted a series of pop-up fundraisers prior to opening. The two Filipina-owned businesses co-hosted a grand opening in July. Upon opening, Shop Halo Halo was one of only two brick-and-mortar Filipino bakeries in Portland. The business has hosted night markets and other cultural events.

## Reception

In 2024, Eater Portland's Krista Garcia included Shop Halo Halo in an overview of recommended eateries for "fantastic" Filipino cuisine in the Portland metropolitan area. Additionally, the website's Michelle Lopez included the business in a list of the area's "outstanding" bakeries. Rebecca Roland, Kara Stokes, and Janey Wong included the ube crinkle cookies in a 2024 list of Portland's best "decadent" cookies.