It's Never Too Latte to Make a Cafe a Success

In an outpouring of generosity, people all over San Bruno are pulling together to help fire victims. One business doing its small part is Never Too Latte, a welcoming café on San Mateo Avenue that is donating 10 percent of each sale to the American Red Cross through Friday.

Owner Charles Kasuma, 27, said he wants to do everything he can to help families affected by the Sept. 9 fire. "San Bruno has been supportive of us since we opened, and we wanted to give something back in appreciation," he says.

Kasuma took over Never Too Latte less than a year ago, completely renovating the space to make it up-to-date, warm and cozy. He replaced a worn-out carpet with light yellow floor tiles, added attractive pendant lighting, constructed new walls to break up the interior, and brought in café tables and modern couches.

"I wanted someplace where people could hang out and relax," he says.

He also came up with a new motto for the place,  prominently featured over the entrance: "Enter as strangers, leave as friends."  He said he hopes that will become a reality for all his customers.

 Ken Baduske, a sales representative at a nearby business, stops by almost daily. "It's more personal here and I like to support local businesses because that's what San Bruno was built on," he says.

Sal Jimenez, who grew up in San Bruno in the 1950s, but lives and works in San Francisco, also is a regular.  "Here, everybody knows you and you see the same people. Its more community-oriented, not cold and impersonal like Starbucks."

For Marie Lorenzo-Davis, an eight-year San Bruno resident and mother of two, Never Too Latte is like the cafes she frequented when she was a student at the University of Iowa and in her native France. "There are sofas and armchairs to sit on, the food is good and the price is right – and it's very friendly. It feels like being at home, but without having to prepare the food."

Kasuma serves only fair-trade coffee and the pastries are homemade. Japanese- style crepes are the café's specialty. "Unlike the French variety, they're thin and crunchy and have a lot of flavor," he says. "And outside of San Francisco's Japantown or Clement Street, they're not readily available."

Kasuma dreamed about having his own restaurant when he came to this country as a 16 year old in 1998. He, his mother and brother were forced to flee Surabaya, Indonesia, to escape violence directed against Indonesians of Chinese origin -- people just like them.

While a sophomore at San Francisco's Abraham Lincoln High School, he started bussing tables at an Italian restaurant in the West Portal section of the city. Soon he was promoted to host and from there to assistant manager. After graduation, he took other jobs -- at the trendy Kuleto's on Powell Street, Laurel Court in the Fairmont Hotel and the Japanese restaurant Juban, where he was the operations manager for the three Juban restaurants in the Bay Area. His goal was to move up the ladder and be his own boss.

While working in restaurants he also pursued other interests. He became a professional photographer, a runway model and an actor, landing walk-on parts in several movies. But his passion was food, and he saved the money he earned. When the opportunity to buy Never Too Latte came up, he had the experience and the cash.

Kasuma said he considers Never Too Latte more than a coffee shop. "Starbucks is a coffee shop, and I can't compete with them. We're a café and bakery because we not only offer coffee and tea, but also freshly made baked goods," he says. When the café first opened, Kasuma's wife, Sheila, made all the pastries. But having recently given birth to a son, she's relinquished most of her duties. She still makes  the cakes for the café and takes orders for special occasions.

Kasuma uses the café for kids' birthday parties, decorating the place and providing the cake and food and drink. And a mothers group meets at the café every Monday.

"Not too many businesses would welcome a huge group of noisy kids and moms into their establishment, let alone cater to food wishes, and be so nice," said  Victoria Lau, a San Bruno Mothers Club member and a columnist for San Bruno Patch. "I think I can speak for the whole club in saying we love Never Too Latte."

Kasuma wants other groups in San Bruno to use the space, too, so that it's a real gathering spot — and resource — for the community.

The recession is taking its toll on his business, Kasuma said, adding that the biggest threat comes from the coffee giant in the next block. "When Starbucks first opened, the then-owner lost all his customers and eventually went out of business. He didn't have a vision for the place, and just gave up.

"I'm trying to win all those customers back and get other people in the door. We need more customers to survive, but getting the word out is hard and there's not a lot of foot traffic here," he said.

Kasuma is going full speed, working 15 hours a day. "My mother always wanted to own a restaurant but she died before she could fulfill that dream so I'm doing it for her as well as myself," he says. "And if I'm successful here, I'll know I can do anything in the future."