Alejandra Perez and Karina Rodriguez have been serving coffee, smoothies and Latin American cuisine like tamales and pupusas at Un Cafecito for the past two and a half years. The cafe sits in the front corner of the spacious retail space at 335 Jones St. and was honored by the Board of Supervisors for its work in the Tenderloin just last month.
But while tables, chairs and a couch fill the first half of the large room, the back looks as though it's waiting for more tenants to move in – which is in fact the case.
Perez, who has worked in restaurants since immigrating to the United States, said they started the cafe with the help of the Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA). The agency's Mercadito program puts prospective business owners through its business development program, then rents them space in its Mercadito, a "microbusiness incubator." Un Cafecito was the first tenant in MEDA's Tenderloin Mercadito, and two and a half years later, it's still the only one in the 10-foot by 10-foot space.
The unused space at the back of the cafe.
A produce market was supposed to join them in the space, Perez said, but it never arrived. With MEDA's lease on the space ending on June 30th, the Tenderloin Economic Development Project (TEDP)—which focuses on helping low-income immigrant-run businesses in the neighborhood survive the current economic climate—is racing the clock to gather enough viable neighborhood-serving businesses to turn the space into a real incubator and keep Un Cafecito in place.
Brytanee Brown, the TEDP business analyst on the project, said it was impressive that Un Cafecito, which "puts Jamba Juice to shame", managed to hold down the huge space by itself for so long. And when thinking about what kinds of companies to recruit to join the cafe, TEDP is considering the needs of under-served communities in the Tenderloin and what's already available on the surrounding blocks.
The plan is to secure an established business owner who can sign onto a long-term master lease, and charge vendors for space based on their income goals, said TEDP Executive Director Anh Nguyen. At this point, John Akins of the new Trinity Cafe on Market and Cafe Golo in the Marina is interested in renting space for additional baked goods production, and the owners of Tadu are considering opening an Ethiopian cultural shop in the space. Other potential vendors include a coffee roaster, florist and organic skincare line.
Perez said she'd still love to see a Mexican produce market move in as there is a large Latino community in the neighborhood and many still prefer to travel to the Mission to buy produce and meat. Regardless, "I just don't want [Un Cafecito] to leave," Perez said. "We can help change the Tenderloin. We can help San Francisco with this neighborhood."
And the San Francisco Board of Supervisors seems to agree. District 6 Supervisor Jane Kim named Un Cafecito the district's small business of the month in May.
We'll be tracking the incubator's progress, and will keep you posted on the space's future. In the meantime, Un Cafecito is open for business from 6am to 5pm weekdays and 7am to 1pm Saturdays.
