A buffet’s worth of food pop-ups launched in the first year of COVID-19. Some flamed out, while others, like Cenaduria Elvira, became shooting stars. Now, the business that began in a Jingletown backyard and quickly gained notoriety for its focus on flavor-packed, lovingly-crafted dishes from the Mexican state of Jalisco, is ready for the next phase, a brick and mortar in Oakland’s Jack London Square. 

Current location: 2829 East 9th St., Oakland

Open Thursday and Friday, 3-9 p.m.,
Saturday and Sunday, 12-9 p.m.

Elvira Valera started Cenaduria Elvira out of her home in October 2020, when the company she worked for temporarily closed during the early months of the pandemic. Since then, she has built a devoted following thanks to Zapotlanejo-style tostadas raspadas, which The New York Times declared one of best dishes in the country in 2023, and other regional dishes that are harder to find in the Bay Area. 

The tentative grand opening for Cenaduria Elvira in Jack London Square (468 3rd St., Oakland) is the first week of December, pending completion of construction and final permit approvals from the city of Oakland. It is possible delays could push the opening to January 2026, Valera said.

When the restaurant opens, it will offer the same popular menu that has garnered Valera plaudits, and the restaurant will be open six days a week instead of the current four. The restaurant will offer both family-style seating for large parties and the flexibility to move seating around to meet demand. The space has both indoor and outdoor seating. Eventually, Valera said, she will expand the menu to offer two additional items — barbacoa and tamales. 

The tacos dorados are another offering that will be on the menu at Cenaduria Elvira when the restaurant opens in the Jack London Square neighborhood. Credit: Courtesy of Cenaduria Elvira

The tostadas raspadas, which are made by Valera’s aunt in Jalisco and brought to the United States, are fried to order and topped off with beans, shredded cabbage, shredded meat, cotija cheese and drenched in a thin red sauce. The raspada is longer and wider than regular tostadas and has a more airy crunch to it. Other items on the menu include red pozole (which can be accompanied by a plain raspada for dipping), and deep fried, crunchy tacos dorados with requeson (a soft, creamy cheese similar to ricotta), topped off of shredded cabbage, cheese, and red sauce. Another Jalisco staple on the menu is the torta ahogada, a salty, crunchy roll crammed with carnitas and then dipped in a chile de arbol-based sauce and topped with onions and lime.

The opening of the restaurant is a long time coming for Valera, who said she was offered a lease for a location in San Leandro in 2023, but she ultimately refused because she wanted to stay in Oakland. Because her pop-up was originally a cash business, Valera said she had a hard time securing financing for a permanent location.

“A lot of Hispanic businesses do this. We think that by doing things under the table it  is better, but it’s not,” Valera said. “I was uneducated about this. I would show these landlords the newspaper, say, ‘Here, look, we are this place that can make it, and we can be something.’ But everybody would turn me down.”

Last year, Valera got all of her business paperwork in order, including the license, and connected with a commercial real estate agent to help her find the right space for the restaurant. Valera ended up finding the space on Craigslist, sent it to her agent, and signed the lease on Oct. 1 after securing two loans. 

“It was meant to be how everything worked out,” Valera said.

Although she is happy to open a restaurant in her hometown, Valera said both negative media coverage in general of Oakland and the news of potentially heightened federal immigration enforcement activity in the Bay Area have put a dent in her business. 

“Oakland has a bad name, and we’re not bad people,” Valera said. “I’m opening a business in the middle of Trump being president, in the middle of threats from ICE. It feels like the odds are stacked against me, but I’m not going to let them stop me because we are great people. If you want to come have my food, you’re going to have to come to Oakland.”

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