Tucked away in the quieter neighborhood streets on the south side of Cannon Beach, just one block from the ocean, Sea Level Bakery + Coffee makes a strong case for the title of best bakery on the Oregon coast.
Opened in 2014 by couple Jason and Liz Menke, the cozy, modern cafe (which was remodeled in 2023) offers fresh-baked bread, sandwiches and bowls in addition to its well-stocked pastry case where there are no bad choices.
On a recent visit, the case was stocked with sticky buns, biscuits, scones, banana bread, kouign amann, Danish, pound cake, muffins and five kinds of cookies. There was also something called tide truffles, a vegan and gluten free treat that sells in packs of three. In a neighboring case were loaves of fresh-baked bread, as well as baguettes, ciabatta and slices of focaccia.
Offerings rotate seasonally, sometimes even weekly, based on available ingredients and the whims and experimentations of the staff bakers.
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On a recent visit, we ate a raspberry pistachio scone with lemon glaze that was sweet and delicious. A soft biscuit, dusted with cinnamon sugar and loaded with marionberry jam, was a great accompaniment. I made a mental note to pick up a baguette on our next beach day.
Sea Level Bakery + Coffee is tucked away in the Tolovana Park neighborhood of Cannon Beach, about a mile from the main drag.Jamie Hale/The Oregonian
People walk the sand on the south end of Cannon beach, near Tolovana Beach State Recreation Site on the north Oregon coast.Jamie Hale/The Oregonian
A biscuit with marionberry jam at Sea Level Bakery + Coffee in Cannon Beach.Jamie Hale/The Oregonian
Jason Menke said he grew up going to French boulangeries with his grandmother, where he fell in love with the idea of serving a community through food. When the couple opened Sea Level, in the old Waves of Grain bakery space, they wanted to bring that boulangerie culture to the Oregon coast.
“We felt like it needed to be both a cafe, coffee ship and a bakery,” Menke said of the business. “We just know that people need better food options, particularly at the beach.”
Grab a table on the covered patio outside and you might feel like you’re joining the Cannon Beach community. On our visit, a local woman introduced us to her dog, who stared hungrily at our pastries. We eavesdropped on a group of surfers nearby. A family of sleepy tourists shuffled in and plopped down around a table with cups of coffee. The indoor seating, which consists of a few smaller tables, is crucial for the rainy season, but when the weather is nice the patio is idyllic.
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Sea Level, which is nestled into the Tolovana Park neighborhood, is a surprisingly peaceful place given the commotion all around it. The main drag of Cannon Beach, which is choked with tourists in the summer, is only a mile to the north. And only two blocks south is the busy Tolovana Beach State Recreation Site, which attracts upwards of 1.2 million visitors each year.
“When we first started it seemed like a curse to be in that part of town, because it was quiet down there,” Menke said. But after a couple of years, once business caught on, the couple grew to appreciate their place in Cannon Beach.
“We like to say that we’re Tolovana proud,” he said.
With their major remodel still fresh in the rearview mirror, the couple finds it hard to think too much about the future. But when pressed, Jason Menke said they’ve been dreaming about adding yet another offering to their cafe: pizza. After a successful one-time pizza night last year, the couple has been toying with the idea of making it happen monthly or even weekly.
That would only be another extension of their mission to provide good food to the community on the north Oregon coast.
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“There’s definitely not enough good food at the beach,” Menke said.
The takeaway: Sea Level offers everything you could want from an Oregon coast bakery: great pastries, good coffee, ample seating and a quick walk to the beach.
Sample menu: A biscuit and jam ($4.25), a seasonal scone ($4.25) and espresso ($4).
Drinks: Coffee and espresso from Portland’s Heart Coffee Roasters, with tea and a rotating menu of seasonal drinks.
Details: Counter service with indoor and outdoor seating. ADA accessible with parking spot, ramp and restroom. Open 7 a.m.-2 p.m., Monday-Thursday; 3116 S. Hemlock St., Cannon Beach; 503-436-4254; sealevelbakery.com.
A recent $3 million donation to back GOP candidates is the largest single contribution by an individual in state history.
Phil Knight, billionaire co-founder of Nike, sits at an event at the Nike campus in Beaverton in 2023. Knight is a prolific donor to Republican candidates in Oregon.
Jonathan Levinson / OPB
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Oregon’s richest man is once again setting political giving records with his checkbook.
Nike co-founder Phil Knight last month sent $3 million to a political committee focused on electing more Republicans to the state Legislature. That committee, Bring Balance to Salem, has been increasingly important to the GOP’s aim of winning back influence in the state over the last two election cycles.
The check marks the largest single donation ever by an individual political donor in Oregon. And it brings Knight’s total giving to Bring Balance to Salem up to $9 million over the last three years.
With the donation, first reported by the Oregon Journalism Project, Knight is signaling once again that he is fed up with Democratic dominance in Oregon. While the billionaire used to donate to members of both parties — including sending $250,000 to Democratic Gov. John Kitzhaber’s 2014 reelection bid — his largesse has been squarely focused on the GOP in recent years.
In 2022, Knight spent more than $5 million supporting the two chief candidates running against Democrat Tina Kotek in the governor’s race. In a rare interview that year, Knight told the New York Times he is “an anti-Tina person,” and spoke of being opposed to drug decriminalization and other policies Oregon had enacted.
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Knight’s money didn’t dictate the outcome of the election. Kotek defeated both Republican Christine Drazan and nonaffiliated candidate Betsy Johnson that year. Drazan is once again seeking the state’s highest elected office.
Four years before, in 2018, $2.5 million that Knight spent supporting GOP gubernatorial candidate Knute Buehler wasn’t enough to lift him over Democrat Kate Brown either.
Knight has had slightly more success with Bring Balance to Salem, the PAC dedicated to increasing GOP influence in the statehouse. The committee was spearheaded in 2021 by Greg Walden, a former Republican congressman from Hood River who helped run GOP races nationally while in office.
Aided by $2 million from Knight during the 2022 election, Republicans clawed back some seats in the state House and Senate, eliminating Democratic supermajorities. While progress, the result was not as robust as Republican strategists had believed was possible.
The 2024 election was worse for the party. Despite a war chest for Walden’s PAC that included $4 million from Knight, the GOP lost one seat in both the House and Senate, once again falling to superminority status in both chambers.
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Mid-term elections are often unkind to the party that holds power in Washington, D.C., and many prognosticators believe Republicans will face headwinds next year. Knight’s latest check signals he is ready to spend big to counteract that difficulty locally.
History suggests Knight will also intervene in next year’s governor’s race, in which Kotek is widely expected to seek reelection. Despite criticisms on both sides of the aisle, most political observers expect her to prevail.
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Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek talks about climate executive order
The executive order, announced on Nov. 19, is intended to align agencies toward meeting Oregon’s clean energy goals.
Oregon is in a fuel emergency following a shutdown of the Olympic Pipeline, Gov. Tina Kotek declared Nov. 24.
The pipeline provides more than 90% of the fuel used for Oregon’s transportation and was shut down Nov. 17, Kotek said.
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Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson issued an emergency declaration because of the leak on Nov. 19. The declaration activated an emergency management plan and temporarily lifted some regulations for commercial vehicles bringing jet fuel to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
A leak in the pipeline was found during regular maintenance in Washington on Nov. 11, Ferguson said in the declaration.
Oregon does not anticipate shortages to the fuel supply or jet fuel impacts at Oregon’s airports, but prices at the gas pump could increase for Oregonian drivers due to “higher-cost delivery methods,” an FAQ for Kotek’s order said.
The FAQ said it was unknown when the pipeline’s service would be restored.
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The order directs the Oregon Department of Emergency Management to use an emergency plan to direct and determine how agencies can respond.
The Oregon Department of Energy will communicate updates and advice to the state and fuel industry. ODOE will follow the Oregon Fuel Action Plan, which gives guidance for outages or impacts to the fuel supply.
Commercial vehicles “providing direct assistance supporting emergency relief efforts” will get regulatory support from the Oregon Department of Transportation, and the order directs the department to provide waivers to “state-regulated hours-of service requirements.”
The order is in effect for 30 days, but Kotek can extend or end it early.
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Anastasia Mason covers state government for the Statesman Journal. Reach her at acmason@statesmanjournal.com or 971-208-5615.
Just 11 games into his stint as the team’s offensive coordinator, the Las Vegas Raiders have decided to part ways with Chip Kelly.
The Raiders offense is averaging just 15.0 points per game this season, tied for last in the NFL. They hold a 2-9 record after losing to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
The former Oregon Ducks head coach was hired by Las Vegas in February after helping lead the Ohio State Buckeyes to the 2025 national title. His rushing scheme during the Buckeye’s College Football Playoff was lauded, with the Raiders expecting big things from Kelly and 2025 No. 4 overall pick, running back Ashton Jeanty.
The production simply hasn’t been there, as Jeanty has just a single 100-yard game this season and is averaging 3.7 yards per carry. He’s scored nearly as many touchdowns in the receiving game (three) as on the ground (four).
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The Raiders also traded for former Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith, pairing him with newly-hired head coach Pete Carroll and Kelly. Thus far, he leads the league in interceptions with 13, having thrown just 12 touchdown passes despite having one of the best tight ends in the NFL in Brock Bowers as his go-to target.
At the end of the day, the blame falls on Kelly, who simply couldn’t coax enough points out of this group as they embarked on an extremely disappointing season.
Kelly rose to prominence in the football world during his tenure as the Ducks’ head coach from 2009 to 2012. He led them to the 2011 national championship, where they narrowly lost to the Auburn Tigers, 22-19.
He parlayed his success at Oregon into landing his first head coaching gig in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles, leading them to a 10-win season and a playoff berth in his debut campaign in 2013. But his quick, no-huddle offense quickly fell out of style in the league, and he was fired in 2015. He was soon hired by the San Francisco 49ers before being fired after just one season and a dismal 2-14 record.
Now, after less than 12 months on the job with the Raiders, Kelly is once again on the offensive coordinator or head coach job market.
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