04 Apr A Dream Café Blooms in Richmond

New café El Jardîn de los Sueños, or The Garden of Dreams, is located at 12411 San Pablo Ave., just before the I-80 onramp in Richmond.

Story and photos by Denis Perez-Bravo

For years, Richmond resident Nancy Subias worked in other people’s restaurants. But all along, she nurtured a fervent desire in her heart to open her own café.

“I always had this dream,” she said.

That dream has become a reality.

Subias, 38, and her family opened the aptly named El Jardín de los Sueños, or The Garden of Dreams, March 13.

“The last three weeks have been living the dream I always had in my mind and in my heart,” Subias said. “Now, it’s real.”

The new café is open every day, as early as 5:30 in the morning on weekdays.

“What a lot of people think is convenient is that we are open so early,” said Manny Vidal Subias, Nancy’s nephew. “Another convenient thing is that once you leave here, the freeway is right there.”

He said morning commuters will grab coffee or breakfast or even lunch for later.

The menu includes sandwiches, juices and protein smoothies, and Subias has plans to expand it, offering salads and wraps with quinoa and brown rice.

“The food here is healthy, but it is also tasty,” she said.

El Jardín de los Sueños has partnered up with different businesses to provide a variety of products, like the East Bay’s own Starter Bakery for pastries and Noah’s Bagels for, well, bagels. The café serves coffee from Catahoula Coffee.

Subias’ desire to open her own spot can be traced back to another Bay Area café.

One of her first jobs was at Chatz coffee shop in San Francisco.

“I fell in love with the job so much but also with the people.”

At El Jardín de los Sueños, Subias is trying to create a welcoming atmosphere for people of all ages to enjoy. She wants the community to know that they can come in and feel like it’s home.

Warm lighting and greenery decorate the café. For now, the only seating is indoors and the plants are artificial, but Subias hopes to change all that by opening the patio up to customers and decorating it with plants and flowers.

The café also has a kids’ corner furnished with toys, books and kid-sized seats.

The kids’ corner is an homage to a former tenant of the building — Adventure Kinderland Playground.

“They can come with their kids,” Subias said. “This is a place where they can meet their friends and be here as long as they want. This is for the community.”

Richmond City Council member Claudia Jimenez happened to be at the café the day Contra Costa Pulse visited.

“I think that it’s a great space. It has a lot of seating. Also, it has a place for kids, so I can bring my daughter to be here as well,” Jimenez said.

By living her dream, Subias hopes to inspire her own younger relatives.

“I always tell my nephews, you have to find dreams and work for them. And if one dream isn’t the right thing, find another dream. That’s how life is for me.”

If You Go: El Jardín de los Sueños, located at 12411 San Pablo Ave., is open Monday through Friday 5:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.