SF Tastemakers: Caleb Zigas, Leticia Landa, Patricia Loya and Jason Rose of La Cocina

Since 2005, La Cocina, a nonprofit “incubator kitchen” in the Mission, has helped food-focused micro-entrepreneurs—many immigrants and almost all women—transition from informal vending into legitimate businesses. The program’s participating businesses, which now number 27 (including the excellent El Huarache Loco and Sabores Del Sur) are supported every step of the way, from hands-on culinary assistance to strategic business planning. Some “graduates,” such as Kika’s Treats—with products now in Mollie Stone’s and Andronico’s—have gone on to great success. Says director of operations Caleb Zigas, “I think what they do is tremendous. Before joining the program, they’d all accomplished so much with so few resources. We’ve been able to help them grow.” Last August, La Cocina organized the city’s first-ever street food festival, an extravaganza that brought together restaurants, from the Slanted Door to Delfina, along with La Cocina, for a feeding frenzy that drew 12,000 people and raised nearly $40,000. In the wake of the event, Zigas was called upon by the city of San Francisco to join a street food task force with the goal of making mobile vending in SF easier. While others harp on how unsustainable SF is for small businesses, La Cocina serves as a positive model for what’s possible. Zigas says, “We need to make opportunities for low-income entrepreneurs in the food industry. They’re good for our city.”