Spouses Aaron Tomasko and Rachel Brashear began operating the food cart in February 2021, initially serving latkes and later expanding to include other Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine such as matzah brei, kasha varnishkes, knishes, noodle kugel, and sufganiyah.

Inspired by the "dairy restaurants" (or luncheonettes following kosher law)[1] of New York,[2] Sweet Lorraine's operated from a food cart in Portland, initially serving latkes and later expanding to include other Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine such as matzah brei, kasha varnishkes, and noodle kugel.

[3] Brooke Jackson-Glidden of Eater Portland described Sweet Lorraine's as "one of the few dairy restaurants on the West Coast, and one of the few places in the city where folks can eat latkes and whitefish year round.

[6] Spouses Aaron Tomasko and Rachel Brashear, who had previously worked as musicians and teachers, opened Sweet Lorraine's in February 2021, after the COVID-19 pandemic prompted them to change career paths.

Citing increased operations costs,[17] the couple said "we're not sure how anyone can maintain the level of quality food and service we value without going into massive debt" and planned to continue working as musicians.