Cafe Que Tal forced to close after 19 years in business

We received this letter from Andy Gillis, who has worked at  Cafe Que Tal for almost two decades.

Cafe Que Tal closed its doors Aug. 23, after nearly 20 years serving as a coffee shop and community gathering point at the corner of Guerrero and 22nd streets.

A huge increase in rent due to gentrification and landlord greed is the main reason for the demise of this much-loved local spot.

I’ve worked at Que Tal for 17 of those years. Things got a bit rocky when the cafe’s lease expired in 2012 and was permitted to continue operating on a month-to-month basis.

In August of this year, the landlord, Luisa Hanson, increased the monthly rent from $3,300 to $5,500, with an additional $500 increase starting next year. She wouldn’t negotiate. When she was told there was no possible way the café could pay this, she ordered the business to vacate the premises within 30 days.

The immediate consequences of the cafe’s closure are that seven employees are now out of work, many of them having made lattes, toasted bagels and created Que Tal’s famous sandwiches (like the tuna and turkey melts) for well over 10 years.

The owner, Elena Jurado, who had hoped one day to sell the business to provide her with a little money for retirement, has been forced to close the cafe and sell off its well-worn equipment for a few thousand dollars. It is unlikely that it will cover the last payroll for her employees and outstanding bills.

Rosalva A. has worked at the café for 15 years. She is one of about a dozen members of her Guatemalan family who have worked at Que Tal over the years and who were very reliable, hard-working staff members. Rosalva combined her income with that of her husband, a truck driver, to support their two young children (they are expecting their third child in February).

“It’s hard for me because I have to support my family so it will be hard for my husband and my kids,” said Rosalva of her sudden job loss. “I’m doing some housecleaning now but that’s only twice a week – I was working five days a week at Que Tal. I was making enough to support my family but now am making 1/3 of that.”

As for the landlord’s drastic increase in rent, she said: “It’s not fair for these rich people who want to make more money and we just make very little money at the café.”

Bertha M., a 13-year employee of Que Tal, and mother of three, had been working six days a week. She said the loss of her job will create much hardship for her family.

“No more work, no more money! It’s very hard to find work in San Francisco (for immigrants with little English). My husband has work at a moving company but it’s very slow. We need money for food, for rent. It isn’t fair!”

Besides the loss of jobs, the long-term impact on the neighborhood is that it will lose a community meeting place. There are other coffee shops in the area but many locals feel this was a rather unique place in San Francisco that provided a more tranquil, friendly atmosphere in contrast to the more trendy, slick cafes which have appeared in recent years.

A huge influx of people with large incomes has inflated rents in the city to such a degree that working class people and small businesses are increasingly finding themselves priced out and displaced.

In a society where profit and the pursuit of money are lauded above any other trait, landlords have allowed their greed to blind them to the damage their evictions are having on individuals and communities.

Indeed, hundreds of people in our neighborhood were shocked and saddened by Que Tal’s sudden departure, which has greatly affected those of us who made our rent money there, as well as our suppliers. Despite the large opposition, the majority of the people in our community who were served by the cafe had no say in its future direction.

The root of the problem is an economic system which allows and rewards people for hoarding goods and resources that people could use. It’s time we create economic systems that serve the needs of the majority of people instead of those of large corporations, banks and the wealthy.