Marivel Villavicencio (left) and Cafe Ava co-owner Andrea Cabrera make a great mother-daughter team within the cafe. Photography by Olivia Audino – The Auric Creative.
Marivel Villavicencio has garnered attention and praise with her delectable baked goods displayed on the wood and tiled counter at Cafe Ava in Cranston. As executive baker and mother of the cafe’s co-owner Andrea Cabrera, Villavicencio is constantly testing out different recipes that are stored in her mind for new and frequent customers to savor.
“I’m always trying to perfect my cakes,” says Villavicencio.
The Beginning
Born in Guatemala in the mid ’60s, her father sparked her interest in baking and taught her the practice throughout her childhood. As a young adult, she was the designated baker for her local church and friend group, churning out cakes for every event. Her personal favorite to make? Cold strawberry cream cakes.
“When it was somebody’s birthday, everyone in the church knew to ask me to make the cake,” Villavicencio says. “I would donate the cakes to them because I love to bake.”
The Big Move Part 1
Visas in hand, Villavicencio traveled to the U.S. with her grandmother and started their new life in New York in 1989 (Villavicencio would occasionally visit Canada to spend time with her boyfriend at the time). In the Big Apple, Villavicencio learned how to speak English in school and worked hard as one of the chefs at a Spanish restaurant. Being mostly self taught, she also attended baking classes in the city for four months to further hone her culinary skills.
Villavicencio had her only child, Andrea, in 1994. However, when she turned three, she became a single mother. Although she was still working on her English and was juggling multiple jobs, she had help from babysitters and broadened young Andrea’s horizons with after school programs. Villavicencio taught her daughter the biggest lesson in life – to respect oneself more than anything, and walk away from any situations that don’t serve you.
“She was a single mom who had to do it all,” says twenty-nine-year-old Johnson and Wales alum Andrea. “She was learning the tactics of how to be someone who wants to grow themselves, but also be a single mother in New York by herself. She’s my best friend and would always find ways to spend time with me.”
The Big Move Part 2
After living in the Big Apple for three decades, one major event drew Villavicencio to Rhode Island for good: she became a grandmother. Andrea and Derek Cabrera had their daughter, Ava – their pride and joy, and the inspiration of their business.
“My husband would always try mom’s food,” says Andrea, who – along with Derek – helped convince her mother to finally start selling her baked goods. “He opened this specifically to showcase her talents.”
As the executive baker and mother of the cafe’s owner, Villavicencio looks forward to the future of Cafe Ava.
Once Villavicencio agreed, she was simply “Feliz,” she says.
“I always wanted to make cakes, I always wanted to practice this craft and work in this field. Derek had the vision for the business, Andrea studied business administration and I like to bake; it all came together,” Villavicencio says of the Cafe Ava trio.
The Next Generation
Four-year-old Ava is already learning the ways of her grandmother, baking cookies with curiosity and delight. “My daughter doesn’t like to bake, it must’ve skipped a generation,” Villavicencio jokes.
As something she started doing with her father, then for her community, Villavicencio constantly practiced her hobby-turned-occupation using her mental recipes until she was satisfied with the final product. To this day she’ll switch up the recipes and ingredients at times to try something new.
Making Her Own Rules
Even the tasty arepas (also her recipe, of course), are game changing. Especially when paired with the house sauce originating from Guatemala, where Villavicencio would witness her mother and father making it. Compared to the traditional recipe from her homeland, she’s remixed it in the U.S. with other favorite ingredients, perfecting it to her liking.
“It’s what she likes to do the most and it makes her really happy to be able to do this,” Andrea says.
Present and Future
Although Villavicencio has lived in New York most of her life, and Rhode Island is a huge change compared to the big city, she’s very grateful for the position she and the cafe is in today. At sixty years old, she’s going to keep giving her best so Cafe Ava can continue growing.
“The American dream is a sacrifice, but it’s rewarding,” she says.
Every couple of months, when she’s not in the kitchen teaching assistants her cooking and baking tactics or crafting cookies with Ava,Villavicencio visits New York – where she hopes to see an expansion of the business in the future.
“I’m excited to see Cafe Ava expand here in Rhode Island, and if possible, my hometown in New York. It’s in the hands of God,” says Villavicencio.
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Tags: American Dream, baked goods, Cafe Ava, Cranston
