As we learned just before the new year, Virginia "Tamale Lady" Ramos is finally going to get her own brick-and-mortar storefront in the Mission which will soon become a go-to tamale destination. Today SFist has learned that her lease is, indeed, signed for a space near 16th and Mission, construction has begun, and she'll be having a press conference in the coming weeks.

As Supervisor David Campos's aide Nathan Allbee tells us, she "should be ready to open by late spring."

Also today we can confirm that the location is at 16th and Capp, across from Chile Lindo Empanadas and a couple doors over from Maruya, a.k.a. the former Bar Bambino.

As Ramos told Inside Scoop in December, the plan is to keep things "old school" at the new shop. "Old school means you still have heart," she said. "We need to keep the heart in the city, and not let the rich people make changes. We still want to have a community where we can go together and pray for everybody to be safe and alive."

While I'm sad I won't be seeing her pulling that cooler into a bar where I might be drinking and desperately in need of a snack, I am happy for her all around.

h/t: In a longwinded post at Petrelis Files, on Thursday, local scribe/activist Micael Petrelis wondered why the Tamale Lady's Mission Cantina had yet to open.

Previously: Tamale Lady Getting Her Own Brick-And-Mortar