Alameda Business Spotlight: Abigail Café & Deli

Owner: Jonathan Belkhalfia

When did open? May 2010.

Who is it named after? Our daughter, Abigail.

Is this your first restaurant? This is my second one. My first was in Morocco.

What type of food do you serve? Mainly Moroccan. We are the first Moroccan restaurant in Alameda. My wife, Fatima, cooks everything from scratch. Moroccan cuisine is one of the healthiest cuisines in the world. Like other Mediterranean cuisines, it uses a lot of olive oil and garlic. What makes it unique, though, is the combination of spices—salt, pepper, ginger, garlic, cumin, paprika, cinnamon. The cuisine is a mixture of Arab and Berber. Our food is halal.

Where do you get your ingredients? Chinatown and Indian stores. Some items, like Moroccan black olives, we have to special order.

How did Italian sandwiches end up on the menu? A friend of mine from Brooklyn, whose family owns a deli, suggested I add Italian sandwiches to the menu. Fatima makes them Moroccan style, with a little more spice and flavor.

Why did you choose to locate in Alameda? It’s a small, safe city. The weather is great and the view of San Francisco from the restaurant is beautiful. Our daughter likes her school here. My friend used to own this café years ago. He sold it, it went through another couple of owners, then I bought it.

Currently, you are open for breakfast and lunch. Any plans for dinner? We aim to open for dinner by summertime and offer a full Moroccan dinner. This typically would include five or six courses, beginning with salads, then a soup such as harira, followed by bastilla (classic Moroccan chicken pie); honeyed lamb with cloves, sesame and almonds, chicken tagine with preserved lemon and green olives, and couscous. The meal ends with Moroccan tea, which is made with gunpowder tea and fresh mint leaves and fruit.

We are in the process of getting our beer and wine license because Moroccan wines are one of Morocco's best exports. We also plan to have belly dancers for entertainment.

is at 1132 Ballena Blvd. with a view of San Francisco Bay. The phone number is 510-523-5500.