Angelina's a neighborhood fixture for 25 years

by Ed Moy

Celebrating its 25th anniversary, Angelina's Cafe & Deli has become a favorite neighborhood hangout, serving up coffee, espresso, hot sandwiches, soups and salads to local Richmond residents.

On weekends, there are dozens of families relaxing outside the cafe, located at California Street and 22nd Avenue.

As a "dog-friendly" location, Angelina's offers a water dish outside for dogs and free dog biscuits.

Angelina's is named after owner Angie Rando's paternal grandmother, whose name was also Angela. In Italian, Angelina means "little Angela."

As the story goes, Angelina's was born from a slice of salami. As a child, Angie would go on weekly shopping trips with her father, Tony, to San Francisco's famed North Beach. There they would make a customary stop at one of the old Italian delis where the butcher would give her a slice of salami and a smile to make her feel special for the rest of the day.

Taking a cue from that warm smile and special feeling, Angelina's has since prided itself on creating a family atmosphere in the neighborhood. During Christmas, Santa Claus visits the cafe and parents bring their children to get a free Polaroid picture of the child with Santa. Tony, aka "professor salamini," often performs magic tricks and children and families decorate holiday cookies.

According to Angie's parents, Tony and Maria, they bought the building that Angelina's currently calls home in 1977. The adjacent coin laundry space was remodeled into the Rainbow Wash with a tri-colored Italian rainbow theme.

Angie's mother Maria wanted to create an Italian Deli in the Richmond District so she rented the premises to a young Irish couple that became "overnight Italians." The couple's success triggered a move to larger quarters on Clement Street and another couple took over the Italian deli, but weren't as successful. They eventually sold the business to the Randos.

Offering a family-friendly atmosphere, Angelina's has since become a "destination" cafe. Its goal is to make the customer feel special each and every day.

As Tony tells it, that special quality carried over for one Richmond couple, who met at Angelina's and eventually got married.

One local patron wrote on the popular Yelp Web site: "I sure am glad Angelina's is there. Where the hell else would I go when my hound tells me I need to get out of the house, get some fresh air, and walk off my all day at the computer wound-upness."

Angelina's has also blossomed a second business, having established a popular catering service for the community.

"We have been doing catering for the de Young Museum staff for many events," Angie points out. "It started when de Young employees came to the cafe for lunch and loved the fresh, simple food, and asked if we did catering. We even dropped off staff lunches at the construction trailer while the new museum was being built."

Additionally, Angelina's also offers catering for corporate events, parties, weddings, anniversaries and graduations.

"Angelina's has worked tirelessly with us to provide beautiful food in generous portions," said Stephanie Perez of the San Francisco Botanical Gardens. "All of our expectations have been consistently exceeded."

The deli-cafe is open from 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. For more information, call (415) 387-2222. There is also a free online newsletter available at www.angelinascatering.com.