You know the story…little old house neglected. Little old house embraced by kind folks who decide to turn her into a cafe. Everyone falls in love with the food and the spiffy little house.

This happy ending began with a century-old Colonial Revival house that stood on Oak Street in Alameda, California, right on the spot where the software company, Perforce Software, was expanding. Instead of tearing it down it was rescued and given back to the community in the form of a neighborhood café, called Little House Cafe. With the help of another local company, Buestad Construction, the little house was restored to its original one-story height, moved to a quiet corner on the lot, and carefully remodeled from floor to ceiling. Now, the little house’s former bedroom is a full service kitchen and the living room is now the cozy dining area.

The next step was finding the best possible chef-manager, which they did in the form of Donna Meadows. The multi-talented, East Bay native’s résumé includes: training at Le Marquis in Lafayette; a season in a kitchen on St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands; a stint in a pub in Ireland; time at Chez Panisse and Auberge du Soleil; co-founding the Flying Saucer in San Francisco; making chocolate sculptures and classic French pastries alongside Alfred Schilling; serving for five years as the executive pastry chef at the famed River Café on the Brooklyn waterfront; and, most recently, running Boniere Bakery in Alameda. These days, Meadows and her crack little team are earning rave reviews for delivering sophisticated yet blissfully-non-fussy breakfasts and lunches, seven days a week (featuring sustainable, local and organic ingredients whenever possible.) Whether you sit inside, parlor-style, at one of the cozy tables or take advantage of their heated outdoor seating, the LITTLE HOUSE CAFE is where a little goes a long way…for you!