Casa Borinqueña is making the transition from pop-up to brick-and-mortar this June.
Vegan Puerto Rican food? Yes, please! Popular Oakland-based pop-up Casa Borinqueña has plans to open its first brick-and-mortar location this summer.
Vegan Puerto Rican Food in Oakland
Casa Borinqueña is a vegan Puerto Rican pop-up and has plans to become the first vegan Puerto Rican restaurant in the country when it opens the doors to its first restaurant location this summer.
The brand is currently in the process of raising funds and building out the kitchen of their new space, which is located at 6211 Shattuck Ave, Oakland, CA 94601. The opening date is set for late June, and Casa Borinqueña plans to be open from 12-8pm seven days a week.
Casa Borinqueña currently offers three flavors of pastelillos (Puerto Rican empanadas): chicken, beef, and pork, and has plans to offer more flavors when the restaurant opens.
A Community-Focused Vegan Restaurant
Casa Borinqueña is a family business that was started by Chef Lulu and her family in 2018. Operating as a pop-up, the brand provided Puerto Rican empanadas to the community out of the kitchen of Brix 581 in Oakland.
At the beginning of the pandemic, Chef Lulu decided to change her diet for health and ethical reasons and began experimenting with vegan food in the kitchen. Wanting her business to reflect her beliefs, she removed all animal products from the menu at Casa Borinqueña, transforming it into a completely vegan company.
Now, Chef Lulu’s focus is to provide good food that is approachable to both vegans and omnivores and encourage healthy eating habits in the local community. Casa Borinqueña will also be implementing a “pay what you can” policy on Tuesdays to further increase the accessibility of vegan food in the community. Anyone will be able to get a meal for however much they can pay, something that Chef Lulu knows is incredibly invaluable from her own time as a homeless teen.
For more information about Casa Borinqueña, give them a follow on Instagram at @casaborinquena or visit their GoFundMe page here.
