MEET THE VCMA BOARD

Eileen Rinaldi, founder of Ritual Coffee Roasters, has been instrumental in shaping San Francisco's coffee scene since 2005. Inspired by a transformative espresso experience in Seattle, she founded Ritual to bring her passion for coffee to her favorite city. With four retail coffee bars, Ritual has become synonymous with quality and innovation in the industry. Eileen's dedication to small businesses and fostering talent has made Ritual a hub for coffee aficionados and aspiring baristas alike. Despite her busy schedule, she always finds time to connect over coffee and welcomes visitors with open arms.

Born and raised in San Francisco, Nikki is happy to be raising her son in the City she loves. At 21, Nikki and her Mom opened Blondie’s on Valencia and 16th Street. Nikki has worked in her Mom’s restaurants and cafes since the age of 8 years. While service is practically embedded in her DNA, she does not necessarily subscribe to the “the patron is always right” ideology but rather backs her staff and ensures that everyone at the bar behaves and is respectful. In business since 1991, Nikki has witnessed many changes to the Valencia corridor; she’s excited to see what’s next for the neighborhood and to become more involved in the betterment of the community. Nikki loves the Mission and all that it offers and is inspired to work with the VCMA toward changes that would make it even better!

Avi is a lifelong Bay Area resident with 10+ years of living and working on Valencia Street. They initially founded Silver Sprocket as a punk-rock record label, which has since transformed into a radical publisher of independent comic books and graphic novels and a local zine shop/gallery focusing on local community and social justice. Aside from publishing, Avi enjoys bike riding, DIY haircuts, and making stir-fry with stream-of-thought found ingredients.

Sean Quigley’s vision for Paxton Gate is deeply rooted in his rural upbringing in Happy Valley, Northern CA, where he spent much of his childhood immersed in nature. What some might call a farm was simply a way of life for his family—growing much of their own food, raising livestock, and even building barns and other structures as needed. After moving to the Bay Area in 1989, he founded Paxton Gate in 1992, launching it as both a retail store and garden business. He later separated the garden division, establishing RareField Design/Build and expanding into all facets of remodeling, indoors and out. Meanwhile, he put down roots in the Mission District, tending bar at four different spots—all within a block of 16th and Valencia. A founding member of the VCMA and its president from 2012 to 2019, Quigley remains dedicated to elevating the organization’s citywide presence, supporting local merchants, and preserving the corridor’s unique identity and independent spirit.

Kelly is a community cooking educator, food justice advocate, knife-wielder, co-founder of Bernal Cutlery, Jewish food studies writer, and real-life magician’s daughter. She recently finished her Food Studies graduate research on childhood poverty interventions with the Homeless Prenatal Program in San Francisco, where her focus was community-based food security programming benefiting our most vulnerable women and children. Currently, her full-time job, and then some, is raising 3 San Franciscans and running Bernal Cutlery with her husband and business partner, Josh.

Ron Elder, a Bay Area native who made San Francisco his home in 1995, has been an influential figure in the city's hospitality and music scene for nearly three decades. As part of the founding teams of Madrone and Monarch, and through his fifteen-year tenure with Noise Pop, Elder has played a vital role in shaping San Francisco's cultural landscape.

His latest venture, Hi Hat, located at 1432 Valencia Street, represents the culmination of his extensive experience. This innovative establishment reimagines the traditional pizzeria as a music-driven gourmet slice house, featuring craft beers and boutique wines while doubling as a gallery space for local artists. Through Hi Hat, Elder continues his commitment to creating spaces that seamlessly blend hospitality with cultural programming, further enriching San Francisco's vibrant community.

Tony Leo, owner of Landline Home, has a deep passion for designing products that are as functional as they are beautiful. Tony brings over 20 years of experience in product design/ development and merchandising to this new venture, 10 of which he spent as a head designer at Pottery Barn. Trained as an industrial designer, he has spent his career developing product assortments that span multiple categories for well-known brands such as Anthropologie and Tupperware. Before Landline, Tony was the Chief Product Officer for the globally recognized startup cookware brand Proclamation Goods.

After 20 years of FOH operations at seminal NY and SF restaurants, including Union Square Cafe, Restaurant Lulu and Rose Pistola and opening his first restaurant Laïola, Joe tossed aside all dining formalities (like forks) for his true love: tacos. For T-lish, Joe is the big picture guy, from menu creation to interior design. However, he still obsesses over the minutia like burnt-out lightbulbs, streaky windows.

He currently owns and operates 4 Tacolicious restaurants, Popi’s Oysterette in the Marina as well as Todo el Dia on 24th Street, in Noe Valley.

Katie, of Porter Vintage, has been sharing her love of vintage clothing with San Francisco, officially, since 2016. Unofficially she’s been dressing her besties since she could walk. What started as an occasional pop up in her driveway at 23rd and Valencia has grown into a weekly 3 day pop up on Valencia in the vibrant Mission district (for 4+ years and counting!). Porter Vintage is dedicated to encouraging EVERYONE to shop second hand and in doing so become more in touch with their own personal style. Whether it’s a pair of amazing cowboy boots (our spread stops countless shoppers in the corridor), that elegant and timeless dress you need for a fall wedding, or just some high quality basics, vintage can always be your go to. And… don’t forget to take mirror selfies and wear epic shit!

Born and raised in the Bay Area, Karen has always had a passion for coffee, the skills to manage and communicate with others effectively, and the goal to one day open a Coffee Shop. A year later, after graduating from college, in the middle of 2021, she was given the chance to open a shop with her sister Melody, which is now called Sisters Coffee Shop. Starting a business from scratch in the middle of the pandemic was very rigorous, but with the help of their family, it has been a smoother process. Day by day, Karen accomplishes more of what her younger self wanted for the future.

Dario was born in Vercelli (Italy), land of amazing rice and mosquitoes, right in between Milano and Torino. Grew up with a lucky mix of flavors, mostly from the South (Campania & Puglia), where my family has roots. After earning a BS in Pharmaceutical Chemistry, and a PhD in Molecular Medicine, I persisted in Academia to become an Assistant Researcher/Professor at UCSF.
Nevertheless, all along, I built a life dedicated to the love of good food: humble, traditional, deeply rooted flavors, not just Italian, with a strong connection to ingredients and both the eater and cook.

My path had to change.

In 2020 I opened Alimentari Aurora on Potrero Hill (an eclectic deli with a European imprint) and in 2024 I opened Studio Aurora on Valencia: a living room for everyone, connecting all my true passions (food, wine, art, music, and community with friends).

Todd Masonis is the CEO and co-founder of Dandelion Chocolate, one of the world's preeminent craft chocolate makers. Before Dandelion, Todd graduated from Stanford University in 2001 with a degree in Symbolic Systems and co-founded the internet start-up Plaxo. Dandelion Chocolate has carved out a niche by focusing on small-batch, high-quality production, emphasizing the unique profiles of single-origin cacao beans. Under Todd's leadership, the company has been steadfast in its commitment to ethical sourcing and transparency, reassuring customers of the thoughtfulness and care invested in every bar of chocolate produced.