Tina Tamale runs a catering business out of her family’s 70-year-old La Borinquena Mex-icatessen, which opened in 1944 in Old Oakland. The self-described “third generation tamale girl” now has the chance to take over an old sandwich shop nearby and she’s turning to the public for some help.
Her vision is called La Snackeria and the plan is to serve lunch and snacks to start. She is currently using the crowdfunding site Kiva to raise enough for a $5,000 loan (which gets matched to $10K) and is about three-quarters of the way to reaching her goal, so it’ll just take a little boost to push her over the edge.
A recent video shows how Miss Tamale (aka Tina Ramos) has brought the family business into the social media age and onto the streets with her food truck. You can also see their food up close and personal. If only Smell-O-Vision actually existed, the understanding of her “love and lard” philosophy would be more complete.
Photo by Paula Wirth