Caffe Malvina, Stockton & Union in North Beach, was the coffee shop I went to most weekdays for seventeen years. Malvina’s is where I met my current partner.
Malvina’s was opened by Franco Bruno, Norma (I forget her last name) and a silent partner. Franco had owned a cafe by the same name on Union prior to the Stockton location. He bought out Norma and the third partner about five years after opening. Franco died of lung cancer in the mid 1990s and passed the cafe on to his son Roberto who by then had married Jackie. They had two sons, Ishmael and Amadeus, who were always part of the cafe.
Much as I loved the Bruno family and loved Malvina’s, the business part of me has always kept its mouth shut. The Brunos loved their business, but were not masters of the difficult art of retail food. It was friendliness, a great staff, persistence, a very good lunch and the beauty of the location that kept Malvina’s alive.
The photo on the left is shot through the window of Malvina’s. It was my business card for years. The people at the morning table were my friends. I kicked many of them out a week after September 11th 2001, when emotions were high and I felt they failed to appreciate the horror of the event and sounded like Susan Sontag, blaming America, the victim.
Malvina’s closed this week. Farewell Caffe Malvina, a wonderful source of beauty, camaraderie and fellowship.