Wrap up a gift for a numbered gift exchange and come celebrate the holidays with Maria and John Yakkey and their staff and family at Maria’s Café, Deli & Market’s Christmas Appreciation Party, on Saturday, Dec. 20 from 6 to 10 p.m., located at Sunroad Resort Marina on east Harbor Island. The gift exchange is voluntary, but enjoyment of the holiday spirit and sharing the fine food and family atmosphere are essential. The party is free and open to one and all. “It’s my Christmas gift to everyone for their patronage and the plain sake of Christmas, to put everyone in the holiday spirit,” explained Maria. She added that the party is for all, no matter what holiday they celebrate. She encourages people who haven’t yet visited her café to join the festivities. “There’s too much gloom this year. We’re looking to bring the spirit back,” said John. Maria’s Café is hosting the evening of festive music and movies, along with hot cider, cocoa and coffee and finger food and desserts, including Christmas cookies Maria herself will bake, all at no charge. Gifts for the drawing should be wrapped and valued under $25. “Bring your gift by the café by the 19th so you can pick up your number on the 20th. The more people come, the merrier,” Maria said. The lifesize Santa and flocked Christmas tree are the first hints that Maria’s Café is not your usual marina deli, which often sells humdrum sandwiches and minimal boat supplies. Watercolors and oils by local artist Caroline Braun line the walls, while jewelry handcrafted by daughter Crystal Yakkey fills glass cases. Ornamental jars of vegetables sit atop wrought-iron racks, along with typical marina necessities. Maria, a former Barona Casino food and beverage manager, runs her shop with abundant support from John and their five daughters. Never intending to open her own restaurant despite a hankering “to do it right” for herself, Maria spent 40 years in kitchens and restaurants, starting as a child at her Italian grandmother’s stove. She had retired from overseeing Barona’s restaurants following a near-death cancer experience and was helping John restore their 1971 Pacemaker motoryacht. She watched in frustration as several deli operators cycled through Sunroad with the same failing formula. Maria pondered what was missing. “Suddenly, I was sitting in (marina manager) Scott MacLaggan’s office discussing what I thought we needed here: a full restaurant. In a moment of insanity, I came out of retirement and opened this place,” she said. After gutting the drab old deli, installing a professional kitchen and coffee bar and creating a colorfully decorated café offering indoor seating, Maria opened her doors on Aug. 1, thanks to the hard work, determination and the construction talents of her family, who volunteered their labor. She hired a staff of students with a passion for cooking and learning the business and taught them her techniques, recipes and restaurant survival skills. Among them is recently promoted sous chef, Pricila Cedillo, 19, who came from Mexico to San Diego to study English at City College. She plans to draw on her newly gained culinary and work-skills training to open a restaurant in her native Chihuahua. During construction, the Yakkeys explained their vision for the café to marina tenants. They planned a menu of freshly made “comfort foods” using locally sourced ingredients based on Maria’s traditional Italian family recipes, focusing on breakfast and lunch. Dinner specials are offered most weekends. “I’m a great believer in giving you too much rather than not enough. No one leaves my restaurant hungry, ever,” she said. Many travelers headed for nearby Lindbergh Field stop to provision themselves with generous omelets or sandwiches, knowing they won’t go hungry on their flights. Since breakfast is a specialty at Maria’s Café — particularly her new Italian sausage omelet filled with ricotta cheese, spinach and mozzarella and served with home fries and toast — Maria takes special care in selecting her eggs. A frequent sight at the marina café is a Ramona egg farmer in his elderly pickup, delivering a fresh supply of eggs, still warm and almost clucking inside. MacLaggan said that everyone is “thrilled” with what Maria has achieved. “She’s turned it from a marina deli into an upscale café. It’s a real asset not only to the marina but also the whole east end of Harbor Island,” he explained. He encourages residents to enjoy a meal while watching the new America’s Cup trimaran go out for its daily sailing trials. “Sitting at Maria’s Café, you can get a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” he said. Maria’s Café, Deli & Market is located at 955 Harbor Island Drive on east Harbor Island. Winter hours are daily except Wednesdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 8 p.m. on Sundays. The phone number is (619) 220-0455.