Bay Area/ Oakland

Popular vegan Puerto Rican catering business set to open restaurant location in Oakland

Published on March 29, 2022
Popular vegan Puerto Rican catering business set to open restaurant location in OaklandPhoto Credit: Casa Borinqueña/Instagram

A catering business that is known to be the Bay Area’s only vegan Puerto Rican food operation will soon open a brick-and-mortar location in North Oakland. Casa Borinqueña will be setting up shop inside a small, 750-square-foot space at 6211 Shattuck Avenue near the intersection with 62nd Street. Owner Lourdes Marquez-Nau launched her Puerto Rican food business about 4 years ago and she slowly built up loyal clients through her catered offerings and various pop-up restaurants. 


Photo Credit: Casa Borinqueña/Instagram

 

Marquez-Nau started eating vegan food herself at the start of the pandemic. At the time, Eater SF reported that “The turning point came when Marquez-Nau stopped eating meat herself, mainly out of health considerations. Both of her parents had had Alzheimer’s-related health problems, and she started thinking about making a diet and lifestyle change, one she eventually felt she had to apply to her business as well.”

Since Puerto Rican cuisine is largely meat-based, the move to switch to vegan-only options was pretty controversial within the local Puerto Rican community. “I got a lot of backlash, especially from people in my community, because Puerto Rican dishes are based a lot on pork. They kept telling me there’s absolutely no way it’s going to fly,” Marquez-Nau told the SF Chronicle. The business was able to take hold thanks to the support of local vegans.

Lourdes Marquez-Nau will be expanding on her catering and pop-up menus but will still rely on her customer’s favorites including “pastelillo, a fried, empanada-like turnover filled with vegan Impossible meat, or a deep-fried plantain stuffed with pulled OmniPork, faux pork made from shiitake mushrooms, soy, and rice,” reports SF Chronicle. 


Photo Credit: Casa Borinqueña/Instagram

 

Casa Borinqueña will also feature a vegan burger that is made with Impossible patties, mofongo, and a fried plantain bun. Marquez-Nau is no stranger to vegan burgers. Her son, Darren Preston, owns the popular plant-based Oakland restaurant Malibu Burgers. We can also expect to see breakfast items. According to the SF Chronicle, Marquez-Nau will serve "Puerto Rican coffee and mallorca, a soft roll dusted with powdered sugar.” Mallorca will also be used to create a savory and sweet breakfast sandwich.