Our Story
A taste of Spain, rooted in San Francisco.
Caldero began in 1994 in Rubio, Venezuela.
That year, Juan Lozano and his wife Hertha opened a small restaurant called El Caldero. At the same time, they were raising their daughters, building a family and a business side by side.
Trained in Madrid, Juan brought his Spanish heritage and what he learned about classic Spanish cooking back to his home town. His restaurant became a local institution for more than two decades.
But as Venezuela faced increasing economic instability, the family was forced to make a difficult decision: to close the restaurant they had spent decades building. It was the end of one chapter, but not the end of the story.
By then, two of Juan’s daughters had already begun building lives of their own in San Francisco. There, they launched a pop-up called Andina, sharing the flavors of their upbringing in Venezuela with a new community.
Eventually, Juan joined his daughters in San Francisco. With the help of his daughter Victoria, Juan returned to the kitchen, relaunching his work as a pop-up under a slightly different name: Caldero. The response was immediate. Their food and story were featured in publications like the San Francisco Chronicle and Eater, and they quickly built a following in the city.
Their momentum led to a residency at B-Side, inside the SFJAZZ Center, where Caldero and Andina came together in a shared space. Past and present, father and daughters, Spanish and Venezuelan traditions.
From there, the vision evolved again. After years in the demanding restaurant world, Victoria made the decision to step back from being a restauranteur. Instead, she reimagined the business into something more sustainable and personal, allowing the family to continue sharing their food, but in a way that supports both craft and life beyond the kitchen.
What started as a small restaurant in Rubio has become a cross-generational journey, one shaped by resilience, migration, and tradition. From Spain to Venezuela to San Francisco, the heart of Caldero remains the same: family, food, and the belief that a good meal brings people together.