Bay Area/ San Francisco
Published on September 09, 2016
Sofia Café Eyes Early October Opening In Former Café Sophie SpacePhoto: Shane Downing/Hoodline

Still bummed that Café Sophie is no longer a brunch option in the Castro? Well, it’s been a year and a half, and it’s time to move on. But to help you gain some closure—not to mention confuse you more than a little—prepare for a new restaurant to open at 3463 16th Street in early October: Sofia Café.

After the whole Mike’s Place/Ike’s Place debacle at Sweet Inspiration, we had to ask: why the similarity in names? It turns out that owner Nelson Jameson and his wife have two daughters, and they decided to name the café after their eight-month-old, Sofia. (We’re just happy that Planning didn’t have to get involved.)

As you may recall, the previous Sophie closed up shop last July for a seismic retrofit, and never reopened. The café had just received its beer and wine license, which gave us hope that there was more to (potentially) come post-retrofit. Sure enough, Jameson and his wife bought the space in July, and have been remodeling ever since. 

Jameson said Sofia Café will offer all of the standards of a quality coffee shop, along with, yes, alcohol. “Besides having a good cup of coffee, we created a seasonal menu with optional wine pairings.” Dinner from chef Pablo Gimenez Melo will be served Thursdays through Saturdays, with a small selection of wine and beer. The café will also serve daily breakfast and lunch options, and Jameson plans to offer a Sunday brunch.

Jameson, who describes Sofia Café’s concept as “familiar” and emphasized the “taste of a good cup of coffee” and “organic ingredients,” is still confident that the cafe “will bring the neighborhood a different option.”

In the meantime, he's in the market to make some hires before opening in the first or second week of October—namely line cooks, waitstaff, and baristas. Interested applicants should email [email protected].