Help Us Renovate a Microcinema + Tea Shop in the Tenderloin

We’re raising $33,000 to complete renovations for a new creative community space in San Francisco’s Tenderloin — a microcinema and tea shop under one roof.

This space is a long-held dream between San Francisco generational sisters Maria Judice (Founder & Creative Director) and Reyce Judice (Operations Director), rooted in our shared love for cinema, community, and care.

Who We Are

LibreTé

LibreTé was founded in 2022 as a herbal, non-caffeinated tea concept supporting the health and well being of family and friends. Our flagship blend, Xoffee, has grown from a simple idea into a vibrant pop up at night markets, community events, and private catered gatherings. LibreTé is about offering something that feels good, tastes great, and supports mind, body, and spirit.

The BlackMaria Microcinema

Our microcinema opened in the Mission in early 2024 as part of the 465 Collective, with The BlackMaria as one of its founding members. For nearly two years, we’ve hosted film screenings, screenplay readings, community gatherings, and cinema-related programs.

So far, our space has welcomed over 600 participants at The BlackMaria, audience members and cinema enthusiasts, weave cinema discourse with cultural and community-centered work.

Our Dream

It has always been our dream to combine a microcinema with a tea shop café — a space where people can slow down, gather, watch films, share ideas, and connect.

Our new location in the Tenderloin gives us the opportunity to bring this vision home. This neighborhood is where we grew up, and it’s a privilege to continue our creative practice here — extending cinema as a practice of mind, body, and spirit.

We’ve already received:

What We’re Raising Funds For

The $33,000 will go directly toward:

We’re hoping to complete renovations and open our doors by mid January, but we can’t do it without additional support.

We hope this space becomes a place where:

Thank you for helping us build something rooted in care, creativity, and community. Every contribution — and every share — helps bring this vision to life.

With gratitude,

Maria & Reyce Judice

BlackMaria Microcinema & LibreTé

TIMELINE

PHASE 1: SOLID GROUND & WARM WELCOME ($33,000)

Essential structural, plumbing, and electrical repairs to ensure a safe, sound, and resilient space.

First Comforts: Deep cleaning, fresh paint, and repairing/replacing the most worn furniture to make both spaces immediately more welcoming and functional.

Donor Impact: You become a Foundation Builder.

PHASE 2: DESIGN & CONNECTION ( $43,000)

Purchasing modular, movable furniture (benches, rolling tables, partitions) to allow the space to easily shift from café to workshop to meeting hall.

Donor Impact: You become an Star Gazer.

PHASE 3: COMMUNITY LEGACY ($53,000)

Establishing a crucial 6-month operational cushion for rent and core utilities. This is the ultimate goal—real sustainability.

The BlackMaria Experience: Professional, adjustable lighting for live events and a premium sound system to do justice to films and music.

Donor Impact: You become a Guardian.

THE VISION

If we soar past our target, you'll decide what's next:

The Artist & Facilitator Fund: Seed money to guarantee fair, upfront honorariums for local filmmakers, workshop leaders, and performers.

The Macrocinema: A permanent external digital projection booth at the at the BlackMaria.

A commissioned mural for our exterior, telling our community's story to the street.

Perk: Every name will appear on our tea microcinema wall.