Lil’ Alijo Combines Creole-Caribbean Flavors with San Francisco Roots

September 11, 2026

From red beans and rice to fried catfish, San Francisco native Alisha Wilson blends bold, flavorful dishes from Louisiana and the Caribbean. Since 2021, her business, Lil’ Alijo Catering & Events, has grown from a pop-up into a permanent vendor at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market.

On Saturdays at the Ferry Plaza, shoppers can dig into the hearty dishes and sweet desserts that Alisha has become well known for.

From Louisiana to California: Creole Cuisine with San Franciscan Roots

Alisha has been cooking since she was nine years old, learning Creole recipes from her Louisianian mother and Caribbean recipes from her father. Her business name also honors the people who passed down these culinary traditions: Alijo is her father’s name and a name shared with men three generations back in her family tree. 

As someone who enjoys traveling, she’s drawn culinary cues from Italy, Jamaica, and other countries, inspiring the abundance and creativity of the recipes on her menu. 

“Traveling helped me not be so stagnant, having the same menu all the time. It helped grow my menu base for catering and pop-ups because it allowed me to test out new recipes and ingredients, and expand my menu to what it is today,” Alisha shares.

Although New Orleans’ culture is better known for its French influence,  some Caribbean culinary traditions also shape Creole cuisine, creating many similarities between both food cultures.

Caribbean and Creole cuisines share staples such as rice, beans, seafood, hot spices, and cornmeal, which are prepared slightly differently depending on the origins. Take, for example, red beans and rice, known on several Caribbean islands as “rice and peas.” In parts of the Caribbean, this dish is prepared with rice and kidney beans (known as peas), stewed in a mixture of spices and coconut milk. In Louisiana, it is prepared with rice and kidney beans (known as red beans), cooked with sausage, spices, aromatics, and broth. Alisha upgrades her red beans and rice recipe with more meats, including ham shank, and the Creole holy trinity of onions, bell peppers, and celery.

True to tradition, she uses Camellia brand kidney beans from Louisiana, but blending her San Francisco roots, she incorporates fresh, California ingredients whenever possible, such as vegetables from Green Thumb Farms and other farms at the Ferry Plaza and Heart of the City Farmers Markets. Much of Lil’ Alijo’s seafood, including Dungeness crab, comes from San Francisco fishermen.

At Lil’ Alijo, the menu doesn’t always stay the same. Every third Saturday, shoppers can find a special menu at the booth. Alisha’s favorites on the special menu are the Dungeness crab and oxtail sandwiches. The sandwiches are served on sweet, soft Japanese milk bread with different flavorful fillings. She also offers garlic noodles, seafood lumpia, and sweets such as her signature banana pudding.

Growing from Pop-Up to Permanent Through the Building Equity Program

After getting a Marketing & Fashion Design degree in 2010, Alisha established Lil’ Alijo. Her food business gained momentum later, in 2021, during the pandemic. “I picked up a hobby, cooking and selling plates and stuff like that. It grew into something bigger than what I imagined,” she says. “It pushed me to look for opportunities in my area.”

Her search led her to the nonprofit business incubator En2Action and, through their partnership with Foodwise, the Building Equity program. The Building Equity program provides opportunities for early-stage BIPOC entrepreneurs at Foodwise farmers markets, as well as financial, technical, and marketing support to help lower institutional barriers to success. 

Lil’ Alijo’s journey to the Saturday Ferry Plaza Farmers Market has been one of steady engagement and growth over the last four years.

In 2022, Alisha first participated in the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market for a short-term residency through En2Action’s Ujaama Kitchen, which introduced market shoppers to her cooking. After the success of her first residency, Foodwise’s Operations Coordinator Deven Okry invited her back for numerous Pop-Ups on the Plaza events.

“From when she first popped up, she had a lot of menu offerings because she has so many great dishes,” says Deven. “Being a business owner has its challenges, and you have to roll with the punches. Alisha has overcome each roadblock and continues to put her best foot forward to serve customers with her outstanding food.” 

Lil’ Alijo soon became a mainstay at Pop-Ups on the Plaza events, such as Juneteenth on the Waterfront and Celebrating BIPOC Women Makers, and also led a Foodwise cooking demo. “I always got a personal invite from Foodwise directly, and it helped my business so much. Every time I do it, customers say, ‘I’m glad you’re back. When are you going to be a permanent vendor?’ I’ve always gotten questions like that,” Alisha shares.

Getting to Know Regulars at the Saturday Farmers Market

This summer, Alisha was invited to join the Saturday market as part of the Building Equity Pathway to Permanent. During the first year, Foodwise subsidizes permit fees and offers a reduced stall fee rate, as businesses establish a thriving market presence. 

Alisha describes her transition to a permanent vendor as being smooth, with support from Foodwise’s Market Operations team. Having just accomplished a longtime goal, Alisha’s excitement is mirrored by customers and the Foodwise team. 

“What excites me about Alisha’s transition to becoming a permanent vendor is her having a consistent place for customers to come and try her delicious foods,” Deven says. “It always excites me when people come to the Info Booth looking for her, and I get to tell them about some of my favorite dishes. I’m thrilled to see her business flourish.”

For Alisha, her customers inspire her to keep going. “They keep coming back. That’s so inspiring. They tell me how good the food is, and that definitely gets me out of bed at four in the morning,” she says. “When I go out, I usually go to the same places repeatedly because they are consistent and they’re always good. I always want to make sure that people are getting their money’s worth.”

Visit Lil’ Alijo on Saturdays at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market.

Topics: Building Equity program, Farmers market, Food makers