Sour Kid Cafe expands on family’s sourdough business

Michael’s Sourdough Sandwiches is a Marin institution. The reliable consistency, amiable service and fresh-from-the-oven sourdough bread have held steady for long enough that, aside from making changes like opening a second location in Novato in 1996 and moving to a larger San Rafael space in 2016, major tweaking of the business model might stir resistance from its fans, some of whom have been regulars for 34 years.

That’s not to say more Michael’s wouldn’t be a good thing, and Chris Braun, son of the sandwich destination’s founders, is ready to deliver with this month’s opening of Sour Kid Cafe tucked right behind the San Rafael shop.

The name is a nod to the sourdough footsteps Braun is following, and the idea came about to address an unmet need in the Canal neighborhood of commercial businesses, many of which open at 6 a.m.

“So many people would come in in the morning and ask us if we had a breakfast option, so we thought, ‘What if we did a breakfast sandwich on sourdough?’” he says.

They began experimenting at home before landing on just the right formula — oven-baked eggs; bacon, sausage, pastrami or avocado; Swiss or cheddar cheese; and regular or spicy mayonnaise between a smaller version of the regular sandwich sourdough that, after all these years, is still made by bread baker Raul Canas. Avocado and/or red onion, tomato and greens dressed in olive oil and lemon are optional additions, and avocado toast with or without grated egg is also served. Pastries are from Woodbine Bakery in San Rafael and Rustic Bakery in Larkspur.

Coffee beans for drip, cold brew and espresso drinks are from Grand Coffee in San Francisco.

“I was searching for just the right partner,” Braun says. “I know a lot about food and sandwiches, but coffee was new.”  It’s a smaller roaster where he can work face to face with the owners, and he appreciates that he’s introducing a coffee that’s not available at other Marin restaurants.

The former office space has been gutted and outfitted cabinets, quartz counters, a vertical subway tile backsplash and black and white checkered floor tiles in a homage to the original Michael’s Sourdough on Kerner Boulevard. In addition, Braun, a Bay Area sports fan, has given the nostalgic San Francisco Giants and 49ers memorabilia from that location a second life on the cafe’s walls.

“They remind me of the old spot and what we’ve been doing for so long,” he says, reflecting on the early days when you stood on a milk crate to reach the counter.

Braun’s father, Michael, opened the business in 1989 with his grandfather’s sourdough starter, and his mother Jole has operated the San Rafael locations from the start.

In 2020, Braun returned to Marin from Los Angeles where he’d been for nearly decade pursuing a cinemaphotography career. The pandemic interrupted that course, and he came back home to help his mom with Michael’s.

“It was all hands-on deck,” he reflects, referring to drastic adjustments required to operate a food service business at that time.

Braun eventually resumed doing freelance cinemaphotography on the side, but when a year ago the office space next to the San Rafael deli became available, he and his mother jumped on the opportunity to use it in some way.

“It’s sort of a treasure hunt to find this place, but it’s been a good start,” he says, adding that it’s cool to be working next to Mom.”

Sour Dough Kid is open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays at 999 Andersen Dr., Suite 160, in San Rafael on the Dodie Street cul-de-sac behind the sandwich shop. For more information, go to sourkidcafe.com or call 415-457-0113.

Tacos and more

Moonlight Deli owner Betzy Decker has expanded into the open space next door to her five-year-old sandwich shop in San Rafael’s West End. After renovations of the former holistic massage business, she opened Betzy’s Tacos in July and now operates the two businesses side by side.

Decker, a 2008 San Rafael High School graduate, says the idea to expand got legs when she started doing pop ups in 2021 to help raise funds for the San Rafael firefighters volunteering for Firefighters without Borders, a nonprofit organization that since 2018, has offered training and delivered repurposed equipment to firefighters in El Salvador, Peru, Guatemala and Honduras.

Decker assembled more than a dozen small business owners who started during the pandemic and held occasional pop-up farmers markets in the alley behind the deli.

“Vendors came from as far as Antioch, Oakland, Richmond and Petaluma to sell doughnuts, cookies, cheesecake, Mexican clothing, candles, earrings and blankets,” she says. This allowed them to increase sales for their new businesses while she made tacos, quesabirria and pupusas and contributed proceeds to the local firefighter’s cause.

The menu at Decker’s new taco shop also includes quesabirria (handmade corn tortillas filled with shredded beef, cheese, onions and cilantro, griddled and served with birria consume for dipping) and that can be ordered in an eight slice “pizzabirria” format.

House-made pupusas come with cheese and spinach, beans, pork, jalapeño or a combination.

Tortillas, salsas and hot sauces are made in house (chips and churros will be, too, in the coming week or so) and drinks include horchata, watermelon aqua fresca and Mexican Coca-Cola.

The space offers outdoor bistro tables and limited indoor seating in the crisp, fully converted space with vibrant artwork adorning the walls.

Betzy’s Tacos is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Moonlight Deli is open from 5:30 a.m. to 3p.m Mondays through Saturdays at 1815 Fourth St. in San Rafael. A website is coming soon.

Leanne Battelle is a freelance food writer and restaurant columnist. Email her at ij.lbattelle@gmail.com with news and recommendations and follow on Instagram @therealdealmarin for more on local food and updates on the launch of the Real Deal Marin restaurant search guide.