Chefs Betsy McDonald and Jaclyn Perez spent five years cooking on worldwide cruises, an epicurean adventure they say will influence their new restaurant in Bend.

They’re calling their new venture The Lemon Tree, which is in the former Bend Burger Co. location on NW Franklin Avenue. The tentative opening date for the breakfast and lunch eatery is March 26, McDonald said. The pair plan to run the restaurant together once Perez moves from Panama.

“We know we’ll have to be good right out the gate,” she said. “Everything on our menu will have a nod to another place. What will set us apart is our food will be inspired by our travels.”

For five years, the chefs cooked side-by-side, traveling the world aboard privately owned yachts, cooking for owners and their chartered guests. While aboard, McDonald would whip up cuisines that satisfied the palate or whim of the owner using ingredients readily available on board or fresh from port, she said. She’s fed billionaires, movie stars and CEOs of large American companies.

But in Bend, she plans to carve out a flexible menu that will reflect what’s available locally, from fish to veggies, and add her flavor spin on the dish.

“Food creates a sense of community,” McDonald said. “We will be locally sourcing the food, but it will be internationally inspired.”

The restaurant is being renovated, and the menu is being developed. When completed, the restaurant and kitchen will be painted a Tuscan gold, a cushioned bank of seating will be along the back wall closest to Drake Park and the corrugated aluminum counter left behind will be replaced with a glass pastry counter that will offer sweet and savory foods.

McDonald, 57, and her husband landed in Bend 13 years ago, but didn’t settle in until this year when they retired.

Her husband, David McDonald, worked as a crew member aboard the yachts. Not sure what retirement would look like, the McDonalds and Perez saw the opportunity to own a downtown eatery in Bend and took over the lease from Jonathan Hayes, who is operating his burger restaurants on Third Street and in Redmond.

“We wanted to be downtown,” McDonald said. “This is my neighborhood now. My peeps.”

Rick LeSage, owner of Northwest Restaurant Consultants, tried to take a peek inside the restaurant. He said the new restaurant will have some competition as Bend has a number of breakfast-brunch restaurants. There are about a dozen breakfast-brunch restaurants in Bend, not counting chains such as Shari’s and IHOP, he said.

“It’s a pretty saturated segment with a lot of players,” LeSage said. “They’ll have to be unique in what they’re offering to get a following to get themselves to stand out.”

That’s what Perez said she hopes to accomplish.

“A restaurant is not only about food,” Perez said from her home in Panama via email. “It’s also about great service and a great environment. It’s the whole package. To eat should be an experience.”

McDonald doesn’t think that will be a problem between her decor, the ambiance and menu.

“We want to keep to our mission to keep things fresh, fresh, fresh with exotic spices,” she said. “I will give it my all. We may not make it. But I’m doing what I love. My favorite thing in the world is to feed people.”

— Reporter: 541-633-2117, sroig@bendbulletin.com