Our Story - A Scandinavian History In The Making

The Lefse House is located in beautiful downtown Camrose, Alberta.  It was originally established in 1989 by Scandinavian entrepreneur Helen Lien.  

In January of 2023 Robert and Holly purchased The Lefse House from long time owners Bernell and Linda Odegard who, along with their daughter Jane created a successful business.  Holly had been a visitor to The Lefse House many times with her mom Beverly (Anderson) Cooper who was a Norwegian through and through.  Her mom had taught her how to make lefse and flatbread at home and whenever they were in the area they stopped in to stock up.  Sadly Beverly passed away in the spring of 2019. 

Roberts job moved to the couple to Wetaskiwin in the spring of 2020 in the middle of the Covid outbreak.  As jobs do, Roberts job changed but the couple remained committed to staying in Wetaskiwin area, with children in both Edmonton and Calgary they loved the central location.  The opportunity to purchase The Lefse House came up on Holly's Facebook feed and the dream to own their own business became a reality.  A meeting with Bernell, Linda and Jane solidified the desire for both parties that they were the ones meant to take ownership of this long time community icon.  With an "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" belief, Rob and Holly have picked up the reins and continue to run The Lefse House with the traditional products that people have come to know and love.  They will inevitably add their own flair and continue to put out new recipes and dishes for folks to try out in the café.  

The Lefse House has become a favourite spot for lunch and coffee breaks. We offer a little taste of Scandinavia from our Scandinavian lunch menu to our Scandinavian sweets (Danish kringle and sandbakkles with real lemon butter are favourites).  If you've never been, you really should visit this quaint but thriving business in the heart of Camrose.

Wanting to preserve and promote the Scandinavian culture,  The Lefse House includes a gift area which proudly displays cultural gifts and personal items typical of the Scandinavian countries.  From Norwegian rosemaling and traditional baking equipment to books of Scandinavian humour, there is lots from which to choose a  gift or a memorable present for special occasions, or to liven up a gathering with some Scandinavian humour or novelty items.

You can make your own lefse the old-fashioned way in your own kitchen using special baking equipment available from our Baking Equipment.  Our knowledgeable staff can give you helpful hints to make your baking a success.

The Lefse House supplies some of our products at select Sobeys, Co-ops, and other delicatessens around Alberta. See our listings of locations for more details.

We have been recognized by the Norwegian embassy of Canada in preserving our heritage and many other Scandinavian organizations throughout Alberta.  We  have even shipped a gift item or two to Norway.  We ship our products from coast to coast during the holiday season and are always looking at different opportunities to share the love of lefse!  Recently we were featured in the Westjet magazine as a "top trending Nordic Flavours" bakery, along with places from New York City, Los Angeles, Portland and Toronto.  What an honour it is to stand with other Scandinavian venues!

Come and join us! The coffee is always on!

PREVIOUS HISTORY

In June 2002, Bernell Odegard bought the bakery from Helen Lein and continued the wholesome and authentic baking, using all natural ingredients with no additives.  Together with his wife Linda, daughter, Jane, and many long-time staff members, the shop produced favourite items from Scandinavian recipes including lefse, flatbread, rosettes, fattigmann and krumkake. All items are still found on the shelves today.  

We thank Bernell, Linda and Jane for the work they have done over the passed 20+ years.  Bernell and Linda are enjoying retirement and Jane and her husband have moved on to their new  adventure in the travel business.  We wish them all well!!