BOYFRIEND co-op café + bar

I love absolutely everything about this place. I had the iced grayscale tea blend, labneh with hot pita, and a platter of pickles, olives, mixed nuts, and lupini. All delicious. When I arrived early in the day, it was nice and quiet for working, and as it turned in the afternoon the place started filling up with a beautiful variety of queers. One of the owners was there and was so nice and chill. I say “one of the owners” because it’s a legitimate co-op with living wages and member voting. There were lots of different seating options, and the decor is cute, including a shrine to the most iconic lesbian couples/duos in film. (If you don’t recognize the photos go watch Set It Off, Bound, Foxfire, and I’ll admit I don’t know the 4th one so will be doing some sleuthing). Oh and there’s WiFi and lots of outlets, and they host parties that look amazing. Absolute perfection. Go throw all your money at a place that’s finally doing it right. Folks complaining about prices— this is what it costs to pay people properly and source ethically! It’s worth it <3

Absolutely fantastic queer (mostly sapphic) bar! The drinks were incredible and creative, the food was delicious, and the vibes immaculate. Their events calendar is jam packed, and I highly recommend the rice! I was there for 5 hours, had two rounds of food, 2 alcoholic drinks, and 3 non-alcoholic.

Super cute cafe/bar! Love the space and the mission behind it. Can’t wait to go again!

Loved everything about thissssss omg

I love the interior it is so witchy and cozy. Chill vibes and lovely service at the bar/cashier. Felt really comfortable :) It was nice to be around queer people in a cafe and feel like at ease in that way Also I don’t know what coffee they use but that was the most delicious Black Hazelnut coffee I have had in a LONG time. I think I saw on the menu that their syrups are house made, so it could be that? It was such a pleasant surprise because I’m so used to coffee being mid LOL also the ginger chew cookie and the chai muffin were absolutely divine They have mocktails too which is awesome definitely wanna try one soon!

I need more drag bingo fr

The best coffee, atnosphere and people! Perfect for a date, a WFH day or a little drink at night! Beyond grateful to have a queer safe space in our neighborhood

Editing: one of the owners reached out to me to explain that it’s a running joke. A black employee was telling a white employee something along the lines of, ‘of course most people don’t see those napkins, how typical.’ The owner didn’t apologize for the misunderstanding, just mentioned that it was me who took it super out of context. it is weird to assume a customer wouldn’t assume it was them being talked about after staff immediately Said A Thing that triggers or warrants a follow up response when a customer originally Said A Thing. The owner said when I responded, the employees assumed I was joining in on their joke, prompting more ‘light-hearted’ laughing. I guess. I can see that it is now a Blown Out of Proportion Thing that snowballed; did not feel welcome enough in general to assume anything else could have been possible. I texted (friend of a friend of a friend kind of thing; the shop hosts events, I’m assuming this friend of a friend who offered the phone number is someone who had to coordinate with them via text at some point), and emailed, and the owner also asked how I got the number, like I set out to just poke at them until getting a response back. I mentioned I emailed and used the number a community member provided because I assumed different employees had access to different accounts, like instagram, business pages where people leave reviews, website email, etc.) Really bizarre experience here. Came to work on homework with a classmate. All seats taken, so pulled a chair up to the one empty table towards the back of the shop no one had grabbed. The person making drinks said it was empty because people a little closer to that table, at a bench style table a few feet further away, were using that table for an event, just waiting for more attendees to arrive to claim the table, so check in with them first. So, I confirmed the table wasn't able to be used, put the chair back, then waited for someone to leave to be able to seat myself and have a table ready for the classmate on the way over. When someone did, they left their leaky coffee glass behind. I went up to the counter to ask for a napkin because I didn't spot any. The worker said, 'it's the black ones over in that corner.' I said 'oh, I didn't notice that area, thanks.' Started to walk away to grab some to clean the table and hear a different worker saying, 'kind of racist, they can't see the black ones.' On my way back to the table I say, 'I'm also a black person, I just need new glasses.' It is also ~dark, gay low lighting ambiance~ so it was generally dim in there. Both workers and the person they were talking to all just laughed at me instead of acknowledging that they found it completely fine to trash talk a guest. Just an uncomfortable experience. I know they provide our community with tabling and event space and opportunities, not sure why I got such weird treatment.