By Erica Hellerstein, Mission Local
In 1968, Carmen Elias moved to San Francisco from Mexico City. She settled into a comfortable job at Bank of America, where the years drifted into decades. In 1993, she decided it was time for a change and opened La Mejor Bakery on 3329 24th St., just a few paces away from the BART station at 24th and Mission.
The move empowered Elias, but tore her family apart. “They didn’t talk to me for two years,” she said, sliding a tray of pumpkin empanadas behind the glass counter that young students routinely stare at in open-mouthed anticipation. “They thought it was really a bad neighborhood, really dangerous. And it had a bad reputation.”
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