Powderface Cafe : a thirdplace in Fruitvale

A multitude of smiling faces all sprinkled and smudged with powdered sugar greet you as you walk into Powderface Cafe, home of the beignet, a New Orleans style doughnut. The bakery and coffeehouse is famous in the Fruitvale area for their delicious, made to order pastry, fresh brewed coffee, and lively atmosphere.

Filling almost every inch of the cafe's walls are photographs of customers, including firefighters, police officers, children, bikers, and teenagers, proudly displaying their various powder face. The powder face is a side effect of eating the beignet, which is a square, hole less doughnut that is amply covered in powdered sugar.



There is hardly ever a slow moment at Powderface Cafe. Due to its convenient location across from BART it has become one of the biggest unofficial community gathering spots in the Fruitvale neighborhood. The café is situated in what many feel is quickly becoming the heart of the Fruitvale area, The Fruitvale Transit Village. This location provides an almost never-ending stream of patrons, with BART providing a large amount of foot traffic, including commuters and tourists. The surrounding area, which includes the library, multiple schools, and the shopping area of International Boulevard serve to draw in many local residents including a large number of teenagers. Many patrons are regulars, stopping in for a coffee, beignet, or a delightful crepe before heading to work in the morning or grabbing a smoothie or sandwich for lunch.

As if anticipating the popular community-gathering place the cafe would become Powderface Café has ample seating. The coffeehouse offers a large inside cafe seating area, as well as an expansive outside patio area complete with large umbrellas for shade, and multiple benches located near the doors.

It’s not uncommon to hear shouts ring out as those coming from the BART station or waiting for a bus nearby recognize friends, neighbors, and fellow café regulars sitting in the outside, patio area. During one of my visits to Powderface I actually ran into a former source that said that he stopped at the cafe almost daily to grab either a sandwich or something to drink.


The cafe is a popular place for students to study, either alone or in groups. On weekday afternoons, many tables are occupied with college or high school students bent over laptops, listening to I-pods, or simply chatting with each other. Students are not the only lingerers here at Powderface Café. Mothers also sit and talk together, watching their children play or in one instance rollerblade nearby in the Village courtyard. Many local business people also use the cafe for informal meetings, brainstorm sessions, and lunch dates. Some patrons stay for hours, slowly sipping their drinks, silently observing the hustle and bustle around them or talking amongst themselves and with those who pass by.

In the Fruitvale neighborhood, Powderface stands as a unique center for community gathering, offering more than the traditional coffee house in atmosphere and local flavor. The café is located at 3411 East 12th Street Suite 132 in Oakland, California.

Upcoming Activities at the Oakland Public Library Cesar Chavez Branch

Looking for something to do with the family this fall?

The Cesar Chavez Branch of the Oakland Public Library will be hosting multiple different activities for families and community members of all ages in the final weeks of September and throughout October.

The Chavez Chess Club will be meeting at 11am to 3pm on Saturday, September 26th. All ages and levels of experience are welcome from absolute beginners looking to learn the game to advanced chess veterans looking for partners to play with.

The Teen Game Zone happens each Wednesdays at the Cesar Chavez Branch from 3:30pm to 5:30 pm. Teenagers are able to play video games such as Guitar Hero, traditional board games, and enjoy complimentary snacks.

Contact Pete Villasenor at 510-535-5620 for more information on either the Chess Club or the Teen Game Zone.

On Thursday October 8th the Cesar Chavez Branch will host a MOCha Re-Create Art Workshop at 11 am in conjunction with the Museum of Children’s Art. Participants will recycle and reuse various materials to create art that they may enter in the City of Oakland’s “Re-Create” art competition and exhibition. This event is designed to teach participants about the 4R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Rot.

For children up to age 7 Saturday, October 10th offers dance classes for young children in partnership with Luna Kids Dance. The event begins at 10:30 am and will teach children about the various ways to use dance for self-expression. Contact the children’s librarian at (510) 535-5620 for more information.

Tuesday, October 13th 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm marks the monthly Lawyers in the Library event. The Alameda County Bar Association and the legal Aid Society of Alameda County who co-sponsor the event will provide free legal information and referrals in both English and Spanish. A sign up lottery will be held at 5:15 pm, as this event is quite popular. Contact Pete Villasenor at (510) 535-5620 to confirm event details.

Celebrate Halloween on Saturday October 31st at 1pm with Spooky Halloween Crafts. Children can make spider decorations and cat masks at this festive and free event.

The Cesar Chavez Branch of the Oakland Public Library is located at 3301 East 12th St. Suite 271

Model Shopping

In Fruitvale, a neighborhood bursting with rich and colorful Latino culture it can be hard to stand out amongst the crowd. Yet the vibrancy of the Fruitvale Transit Village has allowed it to shine amongst the bustling shopping district that surrounds it.

The Fruitvale Transit Village, a mixed-use development located between the Fruitvale BART station and International Boulevard, has become a landmark in the Fruitvale neighborhood. Many claim the unique shopping and living center has been responsible for neighborhood's revitalization.

“A long time ago this area was really bad,” said Program Manager of the Fruitvale Business Improvement District, Maria Sanchez. “Before there was nothing around BART and International Boulevard. Now you don’t feel like you’re in a place that is really bad because you get off BART and there is Fruitvale Transit Village with lots of shops and an officer patrolling. You feel safe.”

Robert Raburn of the East Bay Bicycle Coalition, who has an office in the Fruitvale Transit Village, believes that the Village has worked to draw businesses into the area. “The Fruitvale Transit Village has helped the Fruitvale area. Its smart growth and new development has served as a magnet for other developments.”

Planning and development of the Fruitvale Transit Village began in 1991 when BART revealed that it wanted to build a parking garage next to the station. Members of the Fruitvale community opposed the idea out of concern that it would increase traffic and pollution without adding anything to the area. With the aid of the Fruitvale Unity Council community members and leaders such as Councilman Ignacio De La Fuente, and the BART agency designed The Fruitvale Transit Village Project.

Michael Hunt, aid to Vice Mayor and District 5 Councilman, Ignacio De La Fuente, said that “creation of Fruitvale Transit Village, in conjunction with several community organizations and transportation agencies,” has been one of De La Fuente’s biggest accomplishments while serving the Fruitvale neighborhood. “He’s created something in Oakland that is now being copied in other places. Something that has brought businesses to Fruitvale.”



On any given day one can expect to find the plaza of the Transit Village busy with families, teenagers, and out of area visitors drawn to the many shops the Village and surrounding neighborhood offer.

Within the Fruitvale Transit Village there are multiple eateries, including Powderface Cafe, located directly across from the BART station entrance. Powderface offers New Orleans style beignets, coffee, and smoothies along with a relaxing atmosphere in which to observe the activity of the Fruitvale Transit Village. The delicious aroma of authentic Vietnamese food leaks from Saigon Wraps, a small restaurant that serves banh mi sandwiches along with Vietnamese BBQ and rice plates.

New to the Fruitvale Transit Village is The Plug, a tattoo and piercing shop owned by Muhammed Salem. Despite the current economic recession, Salem states that business is "not bad, not booming but we're doing alright." With multiple people wandering into the shop to look at the t-shirts and body jewelry he also sells it is evident the area provides businesses with plenty of foot traffic. "I used to be in The Mission before here and it's a lot safer here," adds Salem.

Farther along the Fruitvale Transit Village on E12th Street is the Cesar E Chavez Branch of the Oakland Public Library where kids of various ages “hang out a lot,” according to Christina Sanchez, a teenager who was in the library with a few of her friends taking advantage of a reading corner.

There is no denying that The Fruitvale Transit Village has become a center of activity for the surrounding Fruitvale neighborhood. With weekly farmer’s markets and festivals such as the Dia De Los Muertos or Day of the Dead Festival hosted within the village the area serves not only as a shopping center but also as a gathering place for the Fruitvale community.