SubRosa is a beautiful example of anarchism in practice. It is not a business. If you find yourself in an apathetic world, and are looking for a space of solidarity, compassion, and fun, this is the place for you. Here you will find many opportunities to freely give and receive, and you will find some of the most beautiful people you have ever met. read more

This is the local anarchist run community collective. I mean as much as anarchists can run anything, in my experience the only thing they can really organize well is a party, which means if there is some kind of party type event-such as music-here you should totally come. Parking is street only which can be quite problematical in Santa Cruz in general, not excluding this location. This is especially true when there is an event here. Some folks try the lot next door what has that chinese restaurant which you can get away with sometimes, but the parking lot with the pharmacy is a bad idea. If you go they will tow. There is a pay lot a couple blocks away towards the bus station,and of of course the bus station itself is right close by both of which are quite acceptable options. Inside there is not a lot to the space. It's tiny, and when something is going on-a band, free market, rally meeting, teach in or whatever it can quite easily seem to be cramped if not claustrophobic. The outside is utterly charming. It's carefully laid out and the light effect with the trees is extraordinarily pleasant. Hours are whatever they want them to be-which theoretically is half days from thursday thru sunday, but they will be open outside of regular posted hours for events of various kinds. Try not to talk about the government, check out the library (it's great spot to educate yourself on viewpoints that you may not have considered) and remember to bring a few bucks to throw in the pot. That last is especially true if you plan to eat, drink or take something (like a pamphlet) with you. A totally unique santa cruz local color spot no matter the occasion. read more

Awesome place, no other like it. SubRosa has served as a hub for local music scenes and is involved in causes such as food not bombs that make our community a better place. read more

A REALLY dirty dump. My friend, a filmmaker with an iFlip camera, was recording our coffee conversation and we got accosted. Evidently we were thought to be FBI (WTF?!). Go to the Perg if you want a good cup of joe sans the schmuck-ness. UPDATE - Wes M.'s comment on your review: Hi, Jon. I can see that your friend would be put off. In order to ensure the comfort and privacy of our patrons, we have a photo policy. We merely ask people who want to take photos in SubRosa or in the courtyard to ask the staff on duty, and to get the informed consent of anyone who might appear in the photos. We weren't meaning to be schmucks, only to honor the requests of our visitors. user photo 2 weeks ago I'd be fine with that, but the 1st Amendment protects freedom of speech and the press, and I don't recall seeing any signage about your photo policy anywhere. And we weren't filming the cafe at all, we just tried to film a coffee mug and my mug talking to the camera. So yeah, the schmuck-ness review still stands. Sorry. read more

I believe the sign read no "hierarchy" and I totally witnessed some last night when they would not let my friend play his music (who is TOURING and gas aint cheap) because they received emails from an outside "source" that he is "dangerous." What happened to equality and innocent until proven guilty? I believe Sub Rosa should have made up their own decision by letting him play and decide later wether or not he would be allowed to come back. Not very PC if you ask me. That is my honest opinion, and the debate/ discussion that people believe needed to happen in order for this dude to play his songs seemed downright PETTY. People everywhere should be allowed to make up their own minds, we deal with enough BS info in the mainstream world- we do not need it in our communities as well. This place has the right idea, but it seems to be a little corrupt. in solidarity. read more

Great vibe!! Friendly!!!! But ruined by the free loaders drifting in and out using the bath room and getting free cookies. Having dogs drift in and out also not a good thing. read more

SubRosa Community Space - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

I was appalled at how Santa Cruz (or at least the authorities) treated SubRosa as a scapegoat for the May Day "riots". Any connection is extremely tenuous, especially when in reality this space provides so much for the community. So thanks SubRosa, for hosting the Free Skool classes, for the concerts, and for the $1 coffee. Stick around please! read more

I enjoy this community space for its print resources (free lending library), art, free skool, and especially open-mic. I am neither young or a hard-core anarchist, but I also am not one to judge those that aren't like me. For the most part, the volunteers that staff SubRosa have been pretty good and available to answer any questions I've had. I usually go here for open mics or to see what new books/zines are there. read more

A little sparsely staffed, but the collective focuses on the quality of the experience over paying the bills some months. I would also be very sad if Subrosa ceased to be a community resource! read more

$1 coffee (and it's good!), plenty of space to sit outside in the sunshine an partake of the free wi-fi. Lots of smelly anarchists with their unruly dogs. Sometimes they have cookies. Once I was even offered some dumpstered cheesecake. I love it. read more

I'm with Jake M. don't fall for all the hype surrounding the May Day mayhem. SubRosa is a community space. A space where human optimism over comes greed. Plus $1 coffee...and art too. :) read more

As as random white guy who they had never seen before, I expected some negative vibes going into SubRosa, instead however I found them the be very nice and welcoming. I've gone back several time and everytime experienced the same generosity. Additionally, they have a lot of great zines and papers that can't be found anywhere else in the area. Only complaint I'd have is that their hours are fairly spotty and definitely not the 8-8 they say on their website (Tuesday and Wednesday are especially bad) so calling ahead is definitey a good idea. Take many of the negative reviews with a very small grain of salt. About a year ago some Anarchists broke some windows downtown and naturally after that a bunch of people who would probably describe themselves as "tolerant" decided to take out their anger against the bookshop of SubRosa?! (guilt by associtation,) and I believe that many of the negative reviews are these people deliberately trying to discourage people from visiting SubRosa. Don't let the yuppies dissuade you, if you like independent media and are open to new ideas you're very likely to be in for a treat. read more

I bought a cool zine here about the March 1994 youth revolt in France, and dollar coffee is enough to make the trip worth it.

Let's get this out of the way first: this is not a coffee shop. This is a not-for-profit volunteer-run community space. Go somewhere else if you're looking for a cappucino, but stay if you're interested in reading some zines/books, seeing some art, and meeting some new people. Once you understand that, you're sure to have a good experience in the space. Subrosa can be a little intimidating at first, but the conversation is stimulating, and Free Skool and the lending library are two of Santa Cruz's most important community resources. Seriously, go check out a book from there, you won't regret it! read more

Open Mike night (currently @ 8p on Thursdays) is not to be missed, every week it is something new. I have not tried any of the food/beverages and I don't expect they would be anything more than you might expect your college friend to whip up in his one bedroom apartment. I'm guessing the hot chocolate is from powder mix and the coffee comes from a tin can but I don't really go to this place for its culinary masterpieces. The people you meet here are not like people in other coffee shops who have taken the time to go out in public so they can have some private time, ignoring others while they navigate their iThing. The staff is always friendly and it is a great place to hang out if you just want to relax without the pressure of feeling like you have to consume in order to justify your presence. Of course this policy does attract some of the homeless and street people which might frighten some, but I have never been accosted or even asked for money while at Subrosa. I read the other reviews and noted the negative ones complained of pretentiousness, filth, paranoia and dogs. I have yet to see a dog there or had anyone treat me with anything but a friendly attitude. (Perhaps I'm "one of them"?) There are quite often street people hanging out but my sensitive sense of smell has yet to be offended (and I really do have a sensitive nose). As for any other filth, it is a volunteer run place and there is a sign saying guests are welcome to contribute by various means, one of which is cleaning. This is NOT a Starbucks or Pergolosi or an attempt to be one. This is more of a Firefly. I actually think of it more as a sub-culture information dispersal zone and relaxing hangout. I do wish they had more than one comfy chair. read more

SubRosa is kind enough to lend their stage to an open mic night, and everyone there was friendly and welcoming. The hot chocolate was horrible, it tasted like dirty water and hot coco mix, would recommend bringing your own drink. Unappealing to outsiders, but they seem content with the regulars, so everything works out. read more

Came to this place through Free Skool, and liked it. I felt welcome and the wi-fi worked. Met a friendly dog and suggested a couple of songs to a couple of staff members who were thinking of playing something together at the open-mike night. Took a look at the bookshelves -- I would not describe the offerings as anarchist exactly. More like alternative viewpoints. I was impressed to see Vine Deloria included. I will stop back by. read more

My kid loves Subrosa. He is three years old. He loves the friendly staffers, the "paletas", and the fruit trees on the lush patio. I think it says a lot about the space that it is somewhere that he wants to spend time. I also enjoy this community space for the coffee, literature and regular events and classes. read more

As visitors from another city, we were welcomed and greeted with kindness. What more can you ask? The coffee was good too!

Wanting a cup of coffee I stopped my bike and walked in. The immediate smell was bad. The people working there did not look clean. I walked away without any coffee. I don't know how they stay in business. The place was incredibly filthy. read more

I love this place! I'm not even an anarchist, but there is such a great sense of community, kindness, and unconventionality that makes it a really interesting place to spend your time. I especially love the open mics on thursday, which happen to be my favorite open mics in town! I can see how one would consider it a bit of a "dump", but come on, it these are anarchists and it is entirely run off of donations, after all! read more

This place was extremely entertaining. Thoroughly amused. I attended an open mic night and it was extremely fun! I would like to go back there sometime. read more

Good Strong Coffee. Weird, friendly, and interesting people behind the counter. Big library full of books on all types of things relating to radical and anarchist culture and history. Don't go here if you are wanting a 'starbucks experience'. This is the place to come if you want to meet real people with real stories. read more

I went to the Sub Rosa open-mike night. I was very impressed by the warmth of the staff. It was a casual, offbeat atmosphere. The performers and audience were clearly supportive and open to any form of expression and encouraged the artists. I had never been to one of these performance events and was curious about the place. The room is small, and holds about twenty or so. They had good coffee. They had open sessions where people voiced community concerns, which were very different than mine--but it was interesting hearing their perceptions of the police, and support of the homeless. I left touched by the sincerity of the performers, and pleased they had a venue that they clearly valued and needed to develop their poetry and art. Another thing I liked, the staff very affectionate to each other and connected to their regulars. I'm not a big fan of the anarchy angle, which I find pretty sophmoric, but one of its positive attributes is a community space for all types of people, which is great, but I don't think you need anarchy for that. Still, a nice welcoming place that can give artist a chance to read poetry or their writings or rant or whatever. Fine by me read more