Ability to run retail on a restaurant venue OR have a functional espresso bar on a retail lot

Have you had any luck with this? If you still need help, I have a few things for ya!

First, it would be hard to combine a restaurant (like, a traditional dine-out one) with retail or cafe because they're just basically completely separate businesses. With that being said you could tend a cafe on a restaurant lot (same as you would tend a bar) and I think it'd work. But that's only if you are set on having the traditional restaurant with the cafe in the same place.

If you are just looking to run a cafe that also acts as a (retail) bakery, you are in luck! I've done this a million times lol. Set up a normal retail bakery and then add your cafe equipment. You should be able to tend it. Just open the retail store and when customers are in there and you're tending the cafe, they should autonomously order.

Forgive me - this is all off the top of my head - if you cannot tend a cafe, you might need a mod to do it. Look at "littlemssam"

Littlemssam also has great mods for live-in businesses (one of them being a live-in cafe!)

RVSN is another modder that has a retail overhaul. I use that when combining retail with other stuff if the game makes it too tricky.

If you look into those mods your options should open up so you can get it how you want!! If you have more specific questions after that I can try to help! I can't tell you the number of hours I've spent rigging the game/using mods to create every combo of bakeries, cafes, coffee shops, ice cream trucks, etc etc lol.

Also check out carl's dine out overhaul if you are into the traditional restaurant thing. It allows you to actively work as the chef/server/host and has lots of options. I personally use it and love it!!