Prime Poway Woman No. 17: Toni Kraft

For Toni Kraft, success came from learning from “strong women.”

Kraft, who owns Café Merlot in the Bernardo Winery, said she’s inspired by her grandmother, partners and friends.

But her work isn’t limited to Café Merlot. Kraft is also a member of Soroptimist International of Poway, S.E.E.D.S., the Poway Senior Center, Poway Unified School District Foundation and the Rancho Bernardo Business Association. She also previously served as the CEO for the Poway Chamber of Commerce.

“I have a hard time putting one in front of the other—I love them all,” Kraft said of her charities. “I am passionate about the education of our children, and the future of our seniors, while concentrating on the balance of life.”

Despite her success, Kraft said she’s faced challenges.

“The biggest challenge that I face now is facing options—where do I stretch to with my personal life, and business and still keep a balance,” she said. “I have come full circle in my life and have a foster daughter so I am reevaluating all that I do on a different scale.”

“My advice to women is stretch to the light. You will grow.”

What does Women’s History Month mean to you?

“I am grateful that Poway Patch has pulled this award together to recognize women’s efforts in Poway. It is so crucial to allow us to spread our wings and feel the breeze that it produces, it is an effect that boomerangs all of us to achieve more. We can look back and relish in the history of great women.”