Within one of Santa Maria’s industrial business parks hides a little known secret for breakfast lovers.
The A Street Café, which is actually a part of nonprofit VTC Enterprises, opened on June 15, serving lunch and all-day breakfast.
As is the case with VTC Enterprises, A Street Café employs adults with intellectual and physical disabilities. The nonprofit has different levels of job training, depending on the level of independence workers are comfortable with.
“Our goal here is to provide jobs and life opportunities,” said L. Erika Weber, marketing and development director for A Street Café.
The café also provides lunch and dinner meals for kids at juvenile hall, Weber said.
“The cool part is that the people who work here are learning new skills, like busing tables, restaurant service, and preparing food,” Weber said. “The idea is that they can take the skills and use them anywhere.”
VTC Enterprises has been around since the 1960s when a group of parents in the area bucked the norm and rejected the idea of institutionalizing their children who were disabled.
They pooled their money and bought a piece of property on modern day A Street in what was then in a rural part of the county. Not so much anymore, as numerous industrial businesses have popped up in the area.
Before it was A Street Café, it was a cafeteria open to the public, although it wasn’t well known, Weber said, but that’s been changing recently.
The café has undergone a series of transformations in recent years thanks in part to huge donations from Elks Rodeo Queens who VTC has sponsored in years past. A donation of $75,000 (minus expenses) that past Elks Queen Johnna Emerick raised helped pay for new hardwood floors.
Last year, a donation of a little less than $200,000 raised by former Elks Queen Taylor Glines helped pay for the remodeling of the cafeteria that is now A Street Café.
A bright and spacious interior makes A Street Café perfect for hosting meetings, Weber said. The café has free Wi-Fi and also does catering.
Even better, at least for the frugal spender, is the fact that all items on the menu are $5 or less and the portions are not small. Breakfast is served all day, and lunch starts at 10:30 a.m. Each day has a different lunch special.
Lately, Weber’s been trying to put the word out about A Street Café. Other than buying a couple of advertisements in local newspapers, Weber has taken to distributing menus to some of the nearby businesses. So far, it seems to be working.
The restaurant is only open Monday through Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., but business hours may soon be expanding, possibly on the weekends, and they’ll start doing delivery too, Weber said.
A Street Café is located at 2445 A St. in Santa Maria. Check out the menu on Yelp. For more information, call 928-5000, Ext. 337.
Highlights
• Who’s going to manage your stuff after you die? Solvang attorney Lana Clark offers an estate planning seminar at the Solvang Chamber of Commerce on Nov. 5 from 4 to 5 p.m. Clark is a certified specialist in estate planning, trust, and probate law. Learn the basics of estate planning, probate, and trust administration at the seminar. The Solvang Chamber of Commerce is located at 1607 Mission Drive, suite 107. The seminar is free of charge. For more information, call the chamber at 688-0701.
Staff Writer David Minsky wrote this week’s Biz Spotlight. Information should be sent to the Sun via fax, email, or mail.
This article appears in Oct 29 – Nov 4, 2015.