A Sacramento cafe weathered the pandemic while supporting domestic violence survivors

If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, you can call My Sister’s House 24-hour mulitilingual crisis line at (916) 428-3271.

In downtown Sacramento, tucked away on Capitol Mall, is a small cafe unlike any other.

My Sister’s Cafe is a small business with a specific purpose: to support domestic violence survivors, giving them safe job training experience and an opportunity to become financially independent. Founded in 2014 by My Sister’s House, a shelter and resource center for domestic violence victims with a focus on Asian heritage, the cafe has become a success story

Nilda Valmores, director of My Sister’s House, said the cafe is part of the long-term support system for survivors and is the only one of its kind in California. The cafe takes domestic violence resources a step further for survivors. Beyond the shelter, legal help, and support services that most resource centers provide, My Sister’s Cafe helps survivors learn new skills and gain job experience, helping them gain economic independence.

For some, it’s the first job they’ve ever had, she said.

“You have to be a little crazy to do this,” Valmores said, laughing. “If My Sister’s House existed without a job training element, I don’t think we would’ve thrived. And I think that comes from our Asian sense of philanthropy, we need to help people be independent.”

My Sister’s Cafe is open Monday through Friday for breakfast and lunch, and specializes in Asian cuisine. It’s best known for its Banh Mi, a Vietnamese-style sandwich filled with meat or tofu, pickled carrots, jalapeno and cilantro, and served on fresh bread. But it also features other Asian flavors on its menu, such as Roast Beef Wasabi Sandwich, Chinese Salad and Ube ice cream, a Filipino dessert made from pureed purple yams.

“Even though our cause was important, we needed to make sure the food and service is good too,” Valmores said. And the cafe did that with the help of local entrepreneurs who consulted with My Sister’s House early on, helping it craft the menu.

Nestled between Golden 1 Center and Old Sacramento along Capitol Mall, My Sister’s Cafe would draw a healthy crowd for lunch, and would even cater a few events, Valmores said.

“Before COVID-19, every table would be full,” Valmores said.

The cafe is staffed by five to six people who train at the cafe part-time for a few months, she said.

My Sister’s House helps those who choose to work there earn a food service certification and then helps them learn the skills to work in a restaurant setting. Valmores cited one case in which a woman earned her food service certificate and was hired at another restaurant full-time before she had her first day working at the cafe.

“When I hear about someone moving on and getting jobs, that for me is the best food, the best dessert,” she said. “That’s the most important thing to me.”

Other former staff members have gone on to work in retail or other restaurants, Valmores said, adding that the experience at My Sister’s Cafe helped them create a resume that they otherwise would not have had.

“It’s about building confidence,” Valmores said. “For us, that’s what it’s all about. That’s the win.”

The idea and the execution became so successful, My Sister’s Cafe opened a second location in the Robert T. Matsui United States Courthouse nearby. But when the pandemic hit and workers vanished from downtown, the courthouse cafe was forced to close. Valmores said there are plans to reopen it.

The cafe on Capitol Mall, however, stayed open throughout 2020, Valmores said. “We’re still here,” she said. “But I’m not going to lie, there were times that I wondered.”

Like so many other restaurants during the pandemic lockdowns, My Sister’s Cafe lost business. With the state Capitol closed and so many workers now absent from downtown, the cafe’s dining room sat empty.

“We had to pivot,” Valmores said.

Domestic violence rates soared last year, creating a huge need for resources. In 2020, eight victims lost their lives in domestic violence homicides, two of which were murder suicides. In 2019, two people died as a result of domestic violence.

And violent encounters, namely choking events, increased by 58% compared to 2019.

With the help of grants from local organizations such as the Sacramento Kings, Sacramento Regional Community Foundation, and others, the cafe made 100 lunches a day for survivors across the county. Those grants helped keep the cafe going when times were tight, Valmores said.

“We kept our doors open,” she said. “It takes a lot for women to step out and get help, and if they come to our door we need to be there to help.”

This story was originally published July 2, 2021 at 5:00 AM.