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Woodside resident Noryn Aldana has spent nearly three decades managing and opening cafes in the Bay Area, but she always dreamed of opening a cafe of her own. So when she saw a charming location in the residential Roosevelt neighborhood in Redwood City, she jumped at the opportunity – not knowing that the former cafe was a MAGA hotspot.
“In the beginning, I was so worried because … nobody wanted to even go inside,” Aldana said. “The publicity from (the previous owner) is really bad, and it affected me in the first week.”
The former owner, Maria Rutenburg, was a Jan. 6 rioter who sold her cafe, Chez Nous, to support President Trump’s unverified third-term run, Rutenburg said in a previous interview. She opened Chez Nous in November 2021 as a “refuge from the Draconian COVID lockdowns, a safe place to assemble,” she said. Some Redwood City residents boycotted the establishment, and Chez Nous ultimately closed in June.
Aldana said she’s not affiliated with Rutenburg and that she hopes her restaurant, Passport Cafe & Bar, is an inclusive space for everyone, serving global flavors with an emphasis on scratch cooking. Aldana developed the menu, and syrups, granola, sauces, spreads, sausages and pickles are made in-house.
“I want people to come back for the food, and I want them to feel at home, like they belong there,” she said. “It’s not like something from previous people.”
Passport Cafe & Bar soft opened Oct. 2, and the restaurant space still closely resembles that of Chez Nous, although Aldana said she’s working to transform the space, replacing the conservative literature on the bookshelves with materials that teach about various cultures, leaning into the idea of global flavors. A Japanese section might have items on display such as a matcha bowl and whisk, she said. She also plans to create a children’s section with kids’ books and coloring books. Eventually, she hopes to introduce live music.
Passport Cafe & Bar is currently open for breakfast and lunch only, but Aldana plans to introduce a dinner menu featuring Italian Californian cuisine once she receives a full-liquor license, which she estimates to be at the end of the year.
The menu currently includes a variety of chia, oat, granola and acai bowls ($9-$14), including a coconut-pandan protein chia pudding topped with fresh mango and kiwi, coconut gelee and toasted coconut, as well as various tartines ($15-$19), or open-faced sandwiches. The Nordic salmon tartine is especially popular, Aldana said, made from grilled sourdough spread with house aioli and topped with smoked salmon, seven-minute eggs, cucumber, pickled onions, capers and fresh dill. For vegans, she recommends her mushroom tartine, topped with a tofu-tahini spread and sauteed oyster, shiitake and cremini mushrooms.
For beverages, Passport offers classic espresso drinks, drip coffee and cold brew, as well as matcha, chai, hojicha and other teas. All syrups are made in-house, with two especially popular syrups being the roasted banana syrup and ube syrup, Aldana said. Another specialty beverage at Passport is the Mont Blanc, a coffee drink that originated in Australia. Aldana makes hers with slow-dripped cold brew, a housemade tiramisu cream, nutmeg and orange zest.
Aldana came to the Bay Area from Guam, taking a job at a cafe as a cashier and working her way up to manager. She’s helped open more than a dozen cafes, including Plucky’s Cafe in Burlingame.
“I always wanted to make my own cafe, and it’s been my dream for so long,” she said. “But I never really had a chance to do it on my own.”
Aldana had been searching for cafe locations for awhile, she said, and was initially hesitant to take the Roosevelt neighborhood location due to the lack of foot traffic. But her boyfriend, who’s lived in the neighborhood for decades, urged her to take it, saying that the community needed a cafe.
Despite a rocky first week with community members unsure if Aldana was affiliated with Rutenberg, neighbors have been posting to Nextdoor about their positive experiences at Passport, drawing in unexpected crowds, Aldana said. She said it’s surprising and heartwarming that the neighborhood is already coming out to support her.
“I thought it was challenging, but no, I think it was in the right place,” she said. “I just was kind of meant to be there.”
Passport Cafe & Bar, 2159 Roosevelt Ave., Redwood City. Open daily from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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