Mission Buzz: Baja food coming to Mission, new sushi on Valencia

"Lili Cafe could be opening as soon as mid-June if it passes a final city inspection scheduled for May 22. Owner Liliana Valle, who also owns Kiara's Beauty Salon just up the block, said that opening a cafe has always been a dream in the making. Valle said she's planning to bring some beans from her native Estelí. The cafe will also offer some Nicaraguan and pastries as well as other baked goods, bagels and sandwiches."

""I've always told my customers 'I already have what I've wanted. Now, we're missing the coffee," said Valle, who grew up in the Nicaraguan highlands of Estelí, a region known for coffee and tobbaco. "I've been a coffee lover all my life and my mom had a bakery, so it's always been an illusion.""

"Kiku Sushi & Vegetarian is taking over We Be Sushi 's former home of 30 years at 538 Valencia St., near 16th Street. The Valencia Street outpost is the restaurant's third location, which already has locations in Berkeley and Lafayette. Kiku Sushi & Vegetarian opened last weekend, but its grand opening is scheduled for Thursday May 14."

"Chicano Nuevo, the pop-up turned restaurant serving Baja California style of cuisine, Wu-Tan-shaped flans and squid-ink tamales, received an interim permit from the Health Department last week that finally allows it to serve food. Up until now, the brick and mortar at 3355 Mission St. at Virginia Avenue had only been able to operate the bar. An inspector with the Health Department informed owners, Abraham Nuñez and Courtney Fujita, in December, shortly after its opening, that the restaurant's newly installed ventilation hood was too loud under the city's new regulation."

Lili Cafe is set to open at 1199 South Van Ness Ave near 23rd Street after Little Spot Cafe closed. The cafe could open in mid-June if it passes a final city inspection scheduled for May 22. Owner Liliana Valle, who also owns Kiara's Beauty Salon nearby, plans to bring coffee beans from Estelí in Nicaragua and serve Nicaraguan items, pastries, bagels, and sandwiches. Kiku Sushi & Vegetarian is taking over the former We Be Sushi space at 538 Valencia St near 16th Street. It opened last weekend, with a grand opening scheduled for May 14, and it is the restaurant’s third location. Chicano Nuevo at 3355 Mission St at Virginia Avenue received an interim Health Department permit allowing it to serve food after operating only a bar. Owners Abraham Nuñez and Courtney Fujita previously had to build a sound barrier wall around a ventilation fan to meet new noise regulations, and they plan to start serving food within two weeks.

Read at Mission Local