Nonprofit job-training café moves closer to opening its permanent restaurant
August 20th, 2026: Liquor license issued to MAKE CafeNew here? Follow stories to track developments over time. Create a free account to get updates when stories you care about change.
Overview
Updated 54 minutes agoCalifornia issued a liquor license to MAKE Cafe at its future home on Felton Street in San Diego's Normal Heights neighborhood. The permit, type 41, covers beer and wine sales at an eating place.
The license is a key step for the nonprofit MAKE Projects, which trains refugee and immigrant women in hospitality. The café is set to be a permanent replacement for the organization's pop-up locations.
Why it matters
This license moves a job-training café closer to opening, giving refugee and immigrant women a permanent place to build careers.
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Liquor license issued to MAKE Cafe
Latest Regulatory approvalCalifornia's Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control activated a type 41 license for beer and wine sales at 4712 Felton Street.
Scenarios
MAKE Cafe opens to the public by end of 2026
Discussed by: Local restaurant trade media and MAKE Projects' capital campaign updates
Construction finishes on schedule, final inspections pass, and the café begins regular Thursday-through-Sunday service. The license is one of the last hurdles; opening depends on completing the 900-square-foot kitchen and 48-seat dining room.
Opening delayed into early 2027
Discussed by: WhatNow San Diego (construction coverage)
Construction overruns, supply-chain issues, or local inspections push the opening past year-end. The license remains valid, but the café's debut slips into the first quarter of 2027.
Permanent café project cancelled
Discussed by: No credible spokespeople; considered remote
Unexpected financing failure or organizational crisis causes MAKE Projects to abandon the Felton Street location. The liquor license would lapse and the nonprofit would revert to pop-up events.
Historical Context
2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.
Homeboy Bakery (1988)
Homeboy Industries, a Los Angeles nonprofit founded by Father Greg Boyle, started a bakery and café to employ former gang members. The operation eventually grew into a chain of social enterprise businesses.
Provided immediate jobs and skills training for at-risk youth.
Demonstrated that mission-driven restaurants can sustain themselves while serving marginalized populations.
Like Homeboy, MAKE Projects uses a commercial kitchen to train workers with employment barriers. The license is a milestone in scaling this model from pop-up to permanent.
La Cocina's Marketplace (San Francisco, 2019)
La Cocina, a nonprofit incubator for low-income immigrant food entrepreneurs, opened a permanent marketplace in San Francisco's Mission District, giving program graduates brick-and-mortar stalls.
Ten food businesses gained stable retail spaces.
Created a replicable model for moving micro-entrepreneurs out of unregulated pop-ups into permitted commercial sites.
MAKE Cafe follows the same arc: using a license to legitimize a training kitchen and provide permanent employment for refugee and immigrant women.
