At Folsom and 19th streets, an exciting project is in the works behind the wrought-iron window bars of the Salvadoran eatery previously known as Rosy’s Restaurant. A worker-owned collective with dreams too big to fit on a menu has formed, and the opening of the Maya Luna restaurant is its testament.

“Rosy has been here for years,” explained cooperative member Alex Samayoa, referring to the former restaurant owner who is now one of the eight people that make up the cooperative. “We hope that this new model of business is a mutual gain for us both, because maintaining a restaurant open is not easy; and neither is starting one. This is a unique opportunity to step in and continue—together with Rosy—the neighborhood spirit of this space.”

On March 26 the cooperative, along with Oscar Grande of People Organizing to Demand Environmental & Economic Rights, hosted a donation-only event that gave members of the community the chance to decide the menu by sampling a variety of over 30 delicious plates. The small restaurant was packed to its limit as approximately 80 people rotated around the colorful buffet, writing down their favorite dishes on comment sheets.

The lineup boasted a wide array of international dishes, thanks to the multinational nature of the co-op’s members.

“We’re trying many new and different flavors, learning about each others’ favorite plates. I made a chicken mole from Michoacán, my region [in Mexico],” said Maria Vasquez, who also teaches family art classes through PODER and hopes to make Maya Luna available as a venue for many other community workshops.

The plan is to put 25 percent of proceeds towards the construction of other sustainable cooperatives in the area, with PODER acting as an organizer.

“People can’t pay the rising rents of this neighborhood,” Samayoa said. “So what you see is commuters coming in from Richmond, Hercules and as far as Stockton every day just to make minimum wage. We want workers in this community to receive a salary that allows them to stay on living here.”

The restaurant business has a bad reputation among workers, in regards to immigration status being wielded as a requirement for fair wages and treatment.

“It is a law that employers review the immigration status of their employees,” Samayoa said. “But nothing is said about the employers themselves—the owners of the restaurants. And the eight of us that make up this cooperative, we are all owners equally.”

But in order to make enough for each co-op member to receive a decent salary, Maya Luna has to be more than just a friendly neighborhood dive.

“Right now we are just knocking on doors,” said Samayoa. “We’re introducing ourselves to the schools and institutions of the area, and we hope they take an interest in our social objective and think of us when they need catering for their next event.”

The team also features an all-star chef, Juan Pablo Nuñez, from Tijuana, Mexico.

“His camarones al diablo will be the talk of the town,” Samayoa said.

Nuñez is just happy to have found a space where his creativity can flourish in the kitchen. “I’ve worked half my life in restaurants and the kitchen has never stopped teaching me, surprising me,” he said.

Samayoa outlined the differences between Maya Luna and the traditional restaurant model.

“When there’s a boss the rules are different. You can’t propose new ideas, because they’ll ask you, ‘Who are you to talk to me about that? I’m the boss.’ Here we share everything, including information, because everyone has something to teach and something to learn. And as a team we balance each other; we make each other stronger,” he said.

As an afterthought he added, “We also share the dirty dishes, and thank god, because they multiply like rabbits.”

Maya Luna is currently being remodeled and will open for business in the last week of April.

Story by: Zoë Clara Dutka