Burlingame business owners facing eviction with uncertain future

BURLINGAME, Calif. (KRON) — Business owners in Burlingame are facing eviction as they have been given until August 31 to vacate their premises on Broadway. The eviction notice caught the owners of Que SeRaw SeRaw and Café Capuchino by surprise, leaving them uncertain about their future.

“There’s no plan, there’s no building plan, there’s no verbalization of what’s going on why we’ve been asked to leave,” said Eric Liittschwager, owner of Que SeRaw SeRaw.

Aster Legesse, owner of Café Capuchino, expressed her concerns, saying, “This is the only income we have for our apartment and our coffee shop to pay. Now we are empty.”

Que SeRaw SeRaw has been a staple on Broadway for about 20 years, offering vegan options like their bajah burger and burritos.

Café Capuchino, owned by Aster Legesse and her husband, has been serving the community for over 30 years since they immigrated from Ethiopia. Customers like Paul Bartke have expressed their disappointment, noting the unique atmosphere and friendly service at Café Capuchino.

A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to support Café Capuchino, raising over $7,400 to help with relocation costs.

Despite the uncertainty, both business owners hope to find new locations. KRON4 reached out to the owners of the building for comment. We have not yet heard back.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KRON4. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KRON4 staff before being published.