Library cafes usually aren’t destinations unto themselves. When they do exist, the coffee is often stale and the food could easily have come out of a vending machine. But when I heard that Iliana Imberman Berkowitz was opening an As Kneaded Cafe in the San Leandro Public Library, I knew that it would become a destination.
As Kneaded Cafe held its grand opening at the library on Feb. 14, offering the same high-quality products found a mile away at As Kneaded Bakery, which I wrote about when it opened in 2018. But the cafe design — it seats 30 inside and 24 outside — allows Berkowitz the opportunity to expand her menu.
San Leandro, population just under 90,000, sees perhaps five new restaurants open a year, Berkowitz estimated. Calling it a “food desert,” she said she was thrilled to create “another great option for high-quality food in a welcoming, community atmosphere” in the city where she lives with her husband and two daughters…