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Moomie’s Cafe ready to serve Empanadas & Coffee to Emeryville

1 min read
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The butcher paper announcing a new business at the former E-22 Cafe space was first spotted by residents back in June. Proprietor Erik Hansen has spent the past sixth months building out the corner space at Hollis & Powell that has sat vacant for the previous two years. “Moomie’s Cafe” will soon be offering warm empanadas, fresh salads, coffee and other baked treats to the neighborhood and workers.

Hansen, born and raised in the Bay Area, spent most of his career involved in the fashion industry. The landscape of his profession was heading in a direction he didn’t foresee being a part of and he decided now was the time to transition to something he was passionate about. “This is my own personal, independent business and I’m hoping to do something unique.”

“Moomie” is a pet name given to Erik by his husband Franco, who is originally from Peru. Hansen was exposed to Peruvian cuisine through Franco’s family who lived with them for a period. “I’ve been interested in cooking my whole life but my mother-in-law exposed me to the delicious flavors of her native country.”


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After some searching in SF, Hansen came across the vacant Elevation 22 space by happenstance. “The location is great, but the drawback is the space is small. There’s no room for a short-order cook. We’ll do some baking here, but a lot of the preparation will be done at our commercial kitchen space in nearby Oakland.”


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Hansen will lead off with the popular Chicken “Aji de Gallina” as well as Swiss Chard & Cheese Empanadas and slowly build out his offerings. Moomie’s menu will be mainly focused on the grab & go lunch crowd including salads, pastries from Firebrand and pour over coffee from local roasters including nearby Ubuntu on Doyle. The location will feature rotating local art displays, have outdoor patio seating, offer free wi-fi and be dog-friendly.

Moomie’s will host a soft opening on Monday, December 10th with a limited menu. They will initially be open for breakfast and lunch on weekdays and eventually expand to weekend service. “I’ve really enjoyed the reception from the neighborhood thus far!” Hansen noted.

View their menu on moomiescafe.com

Soft Opening Hours:

M-F: 7 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

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Rob Arias

is a third generation Californian and East Bay native who lived in Emeryville from 2003 to 2021. Rob founded The E'ville Eye in 2011 after being robbed at gunpoint and lamenting the lack of local news coverage. Rob's "day job" is as a creative professional.

4 Comments

  1. SUPER excited for this place and this food to come to Emeryville, but unfortunately nobody informed the business owners that: NO businesses survive OFF of Hollis Street (except for the old stalwart Townhouse), especially on Powell Street. They must be hoping there is enough lunchtime traffic to keep them afloat, since people aren’t going to drive over for dinner, or on a weekend, with so many other options everywhere. And with the dearth of parking available, I predict their demise will happen even sooner than they had expected. Best of luck, boys.

  2. I was there yesterday for the opening day. What a great space, beautiful and whimsical with some fun local art. But the best part was the food!! My chicken empanadas were amazing, so flavorful and tasty and the salad was maybe the best thing to happen to me in 2017. This is not chain restaurant food and I was reminded of that with every bite, thanks Moomies!

  3. I stopped in this morning and loved the place. I had a perfect latte and loved his handmade empanada. Plus his other pastries are from Firebrand. What’s not to love? A great new spot!

  4. The food is A+, meriting prices a little higher than we expected. Two of us had fantastic lunches for a total of $30, with a prize-worthy empanada and two salads that were simple but perfect with the best ingredients. Here’s wishing them success. Thanks to this page for keeping its Eville Eye on exciting new openings like these.

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