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Category: News

Renaissance among small business leaders pushing state lawmakers to preserve critical program

Posted on by chrisb

Nonprofit organizations that help small businesses, like Renaissance, are speaking out alongside small business owners as they make a plea to state lawmakers to preserve vital services. 

As California’s Small Business Assistance Services faces a potential 50% budget cut, these programs, which provide essential support, mentorship, and resources to entrepreneurs, are more critical than ever. Without these services, thousands of underserved entrepreneurs may lose access to the tools they need to start, sustain, and grow their businesses. Renaissance remains committed to advocating for the preservation of these crucial programs.

Photos: ‘Taste of Bayview’ celebrates district’s culinary delights

Posted on by chrisb

Chef Dontaye Ball has been cooking delicious gumbo for the Bayview for the last five or so years. One time, he served a guest for free when they couldn’t afford a bowl; that guest came back three years later to express their gratitude, Ball said.

It’s Ball’s favorite memory from running Gumbo Social, formerly a pop-up operation but now a brick-and-mortar restaurant located at 5176 Third St. He loves hearing from people who have tried his gumbo, he said, because he loves “leaving a lasting food impression on people.”

14 Destination Restaurants in Bayview and Hunter’s Point

Posted on by chrisb

14 Destination Restaurants in Bayview and Hunter’s Point

14 Destination Restaurants in Bayview and Hunter’s Point

San Francisco’s east side is slept on, full stop. The Bayview and Hunter’s Point sometimes don’t get their shine. The neighborhoods were once known as Butchertown, and during World War II the Navy’s use of the area’s shipyards contaminated the ground with radiation. That history is honored today by many of the businesses working to keep the Bayview lively and vibrant. Old Skool Cafe has held it down for a decade, fixing locals up with jobs in a swanky jazz club. Gumbo Social is a newcomer to the neighborhood, bringing a second-line band down Third Street upon moving in. There’s something for everyone in this historic area, so long as one is willing to peel back the layers and get to the neighborhood’s delicious core.

It’s Finally Gumbo Go Time in San Francisco

Posted on by chrisb

Chef Dontaye Ball, better known as Mr. Gumbo, couldn’t tell you exactly how old he was the first time he tasted gumbo at his grandmother’s house in the Fillmore District. His grandmother always said eight years old. His mom believes it was more like four. But either way, to him, gumbo tastes like Christmas. Ball remembers the whole family elbowing into the kitchen and arguing about exactly what goes into the pot.

For a long time, good gumbo was hard to find in San Francisco. But thankfully, as we slog through this wet winter, San Francisco seems to be approaching peak gumbo. Brenda’s always made a serious bowl brimming with chicken, andouille, and okra. Boug Cali will be coming to the Ferry Building this year, bringing jars of seafood gumbo ready to grab and go. Meanwhile Gumbo Social opened in the Bayview last summer, where Ball dives deep into the iconic dish.

Share the Spirit: How to succeed in small business — meet the organization that helps make it happen

Posted on by chrisb

For almost seven years, Lilia Vizcaino handled janitor duty at a coffee shop near UC Berkeley, cleaning up at closing time. But Vizcaino, who came to the U.S. from Mexico and now lives in Albany, wanted something better for her family.

“I wanted stability, and I needed to do something else for the future,” she said.

Today Vizcaino no longer mops floors at a coffee shop. She owns her own, El Tiny Cafe in Berkeley. It’s a cute neighborhood joint that offers Americanos and iced horchata lattes, made with coffee beans sourced from women-owned farms in Mexico. The kitchen serves sandwiches, overnight oats and avocado toast with eggs and salsa macha — and boasts five stars on Yelp.

Wooden Table Baking: Argentinian Treats Made from Scratch with Love

Posted on by Rencenter

Wooden Table Baking Co. is an Oakland-based, certified LGBT Business Enterprise (LTGBTBE) bakery, dedicated to crafting the finest Argentinian treats. They make alfajores, conitosand bonbons from scratch with high quality, all-natural ingredients.

Wooden Table Baking sought counseling from two of the Bay Area’s Women’s Business Centers along the way. Andreas [Ozzuna, Owner and Head Baker] took classes at Women’s Initiative, and her wife Citabria Ozzuna, Director of Marketing, later took classes at Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center.

At Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center, Citabria took the Business Planning class where she wrote a comprehensive business plan. Paul Terry, a counselor and teacher at Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center, was a particularly supportive mentor.

25 Ways to Chase Your Perfect Bay Area Summer

Posted on by Rencenter

The 1½-year-old club/surf shop founded by couple Rel Lavizzo-Mourey and Julie Cox, markets itself as a kind of base camp for out-of-town day visitors looking for a place to shower and clean up post-beach, and then linger to enjoy the funky, low-key atmosphere of the club’s enclosed patio.

Located in a strip mall just a five-minute walk from Linda Mar Beach, Traveler’s California coastal boho decor is a little Big Sur in the ’70s with a dash of cool Mexican folk art. Among the items for sale in the shop are Oaxacan painted skulls, handcrafted dream catchers, locally produced surf and beach items, and men’s and women’s apparel from Uroko, Of Earth and Salt as well as Lavizzo-Mourey’s clothing label Silver Lining Bespoke.

SURF, SAND — AND SUN?

The 21 Best Fried Chicken Dishes in San Francisco

Posted on by chrisb

3. Brenda’s Meat & Three

Unlike most closely guarded fried chicken recipes, you can actually get your hands on the secret recipe at Brenda’s French Soul Food. While the crispy chicken is always served with the famous cream biscuit and collard greens, sister spot Brenda’s Meat & Three sets itself apart with a choice of three glorious sides. Whichever location you choose, you’ll be getting legit Southern buttermilk fried chicken that tastes exactly like what you’re imagining right now.

12. Rusty’s Southern

Sweat tea brined fried chicken is always a good choice at chef Rusty Olson’s clean, cozy, dependable Southern joint. Don’t bother telling the folks waiting in line for the (really great!) brunch at Brenda’s down the block a ways — just head over to Rusty’s Southern and get a chicken biscuit brunch for yourself.

19. Little Skillet

If there’s something wrong about eating fried chicken and waffles on a loading dock in an alleyway, then you don’t want to be right. Just follow the smell of sweet waffles to the small window at Little Skillet where there’s bound to be a line of fried chicken fanatics waiting to get their fix.

20. Frisco Fried

The motto of this Bayview Hunter’s Point soul food joint is “fried with pride” and once you bite into their mouthwatering fried chicken, you’ll taste that it’s true. Every piece at Frisco Fried is fried to order, so if you’re in a rush, call ahead. Get ’em by the piece (up to 20 pieces) or make it a dinner pack with sides and muffins.

21. Auntie April’s Chicken & Waffles

Open every day of the week, Auntie April’s is dedicated to serving up some of SF’s best fried chicken. The chicken and waffles is a signature move, offering choice of original, cinnamon or buckwheat waffles, and chicken (leg, thigh, wing, breast). Also available sans waffle, and in sandwich form, don’t forget to snag a side.

Where to find everyone’s favorite comfort food

Paula Tejeda: ¡Desde Chile Lindo con amor!

Posted on by Rencenter

[Paula Tejeda], founder of the Chile Lindo project, [is] preparing for one of her most ambitious productions: the first edition of “Chilean Cinema in San Francisco”.

It all started [when she opened her] empanadaria in San Francisco in 1995. Paula is from a Chilean family, born in New York and raised between both countries, and grew up with a wide knowledge of both cultures.

As the store acquired fame in the cosmopolitan city, Paula shaped the other edge of her enterprise, promoting concerts, generating networks through her newsletter, promoting cycles and conferences linked to Chilean creativity.

Inside Oakland’s Mid-Century Dinner Party-Inspired Bardo Lounge & Supper Club

Posted on by Rencenter
1960's inspired lounge

[The chefs] devoured cookbooks from the 1950s and 1960s, acknowledging that most of the dishes don’t immediately excite but finding inspiration in how home cooks were beginning to embrace the idea of global cuisine.

The mid-century dinner party might seem like an odd source of inspiration for a restaurant, what with the era’s famously gravity-defying Jell-O salads and oh-so-American tuna casseroles.

Owners Seth and Jenni Bregman bought Michelin-approved Michel Bistro last year with the intention of eventually transforming the neighborhood French restaurant into Bardo Lounge & Supper Club, a 1960s living room-esque lounge.

The [bar] menu emphasizes spirit-forward cocktails using house-made tinctures and syrups as well as foraged garnishes, all served from eclectic — often gold-embellished — vintage glassware.