As Kneaded Bakery’s first cafe has turned the San Leandro Public Library into a hotspot for food lovers.
Last January, Iliana Berkowitz was paying her weekly visit to the main branch of the San Leandro Public Library with her kids when she noticed that the little volunteer-run cafe inside had been closed for some time. As it turns out, Berkowitz is the baker-owner of As Kneaded Bakery, and she’d been looking for a place to open her first proper cafe.
“I had the vision right away for what I wanted to do,” she says.
Berkowitz reached out to the library director, who, it so happened, was at that moment about to put out a request for proposals for the vacant cafe space. One thing led to another, and, after a months-long process of bid submissions and lease negotiations, Berkowitz opened As Kneaded Cafe this past February. Now, San Leandrans have a new spot where they can sit down and enjoy a slice of warm quiche, a sticky-chewy compost cookie or a sandwich served on one of the Bay Area’s best French baguettes — and check out a couple of cozy summer beach reads, all in the same trip…