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 from Mexico and now lives in Albany, wanted something better for her and her family. Today Vizcaino no longer mops floors at a coffee shop. She’s the owner of her own coffee shop, El Tiny Cafe in Berkeley. It’s a cute joint that caters to the neighborhood with Americanos and iced horchata lattes, made with coffee beans from women-owned farms in Mexico. The kitchen serves sandwiches, overnight oats and avocado toast with eggs and salsa matcha, and has five stars on Yelp with reviews like “Breakfast of champions.” Vizcaino did not make it here on her own. She had the support of her family, and also an organization called the Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center. If you’ve never heard of it, Renaissance has been around in the Bay Area since 1985, headquartered in Richmond with several satellite centers around the region. Its mission is
While RTD is free in July in August, ride this route for easy access to places like the Hornet and Mutiny Information Cafe in Baker, Fellow Traveler in Englewood and more.