Our Story

Andina is rooted in stories of family. After traveling in Peru and inspired by his family's ties to the country, Peter Platt opened Andina in 2003. Within a few years, Andina became a family business, with the co-stewardship of Peter's parent's John S. Platt and Doris Rodriguez de Platt and his brother's John (Jr.) and Victor. The spirit of Andina springs from the family's history which began when John and Doris first met in Peru in the late 1960s.

The eldest of four siblings, Doris Rodriguez de Platt came of age in the northern Andean city of Cajamarca, near to her ancestral homes of Sucre and Jose Galvez, two small villages in the province of Celendín. As a child, Doris saw and tasted the fruits of the seasonal harvest and partook in the preparation and celebration of food. After completing a degree in Pharmacy at the University of Trujillo, Rodriguez returned to Cajamarca to teach chemistry at her alma mater, St. Teresita.

In 1967, Portland-native John Platt arrived in Cajamarca as a member of the Peace Corps. He was assigned to teach physics at the local university and English-language lessons at a community cultural center. John and Doris were introduced when some of Doris's family attended John's English lessons.

Two years later, Doris and John met again again at a summer science program in Lima. Then, they were brought together, yet again, to work as colleagues at PRONAMEC, a UNESCO-funded science institute, in the adjacent departments of chemistry and physics. Here, their courtship finally began and, in 1975, eight years after their first meeting, they married.

The first two sons, John (Jr.) and Peter, were born in Lima. In 1978, John and Doris moved to Oregon to raise their family. In the following year, their third son, Victor, was born. All three boys learned each of their parent's native tongues. Family visits to and from Peru remained a constant for the Platts and contributed to their growing sense of how much each culture could give to the other.

Today, the family collaborates on Andina together. Peter leads Andina in its commitment as a social enterprise to build a more sustainable food system in both Portland and Peru. Victor works as a manager of projects large, small and everything in between. John operates as Andina’s Financial, IT and R&M Departments while Doris provides strength and connection through the stories she shares with guests and employees in the restaurant and company newsletter.

Through the rules of chemistry and the laws of physics, a woman from Peru and a man from Portland came together. Their marriage was not only that of two young people in love, but a melding of North and South American cultures, one which led to three children and a special place called Andina.