Our Story
For 25 years, Zocalo Coffeehouse has served as San Leandro's living room
Zocalo Coffeehouse is an independently owned and operated cafe, located in the heart of the North End of San Leandro, California. Headed by Sara Ubelhart, whose Louisville, Kentucky upbringing is the driving force behind Zocalo Coffee’s three principles.
The first principle learned from her grandmother, is that hospitality reigns supreme. It does not matter how good the coffee is or tasty the brunch is if no one wants to sit down and eat it with you. Customer service is the fundamental building block of our business. At Zocalo Coffee, everyone can expect a warm welcome.
The second principle is that responsibility is key. As a craft roastery and kitchen, our job begins at the end of a very long line of hard work at the hands of many, many people. Our coffees, small-batch roasted in our San Leandro roastery, are sourced intentionally to create the best coffee while taking care to protect and support the producers and local ecosystems growing it. We use organic dairy, and offer non-dairy alternatives at no added cost. Our kitchen works with a local production company and artisanal bakery to keep our food organic, seasonal, and as close to home as possible.
And finally tying it all together is the firm belief that teamwork makes the dream work. One can only accomplish so much in a day, but a team is unstoppable. The staff at Zocalo is no different.
Our cafe is always warm and bright with our General Manager Zach Luce at the helm and his expertly crafted menu will satisfy your brunch and lunch needs. Over at the roastery, Cathy Davies craft roasts our delicious coffees, while maintaining global and local relationships with our coffee producers and wholesale clients. Our Coffeehouse Team is small these days, each employee plays an integral part in the cafe and coffee experience. That is why all of our staff members are paid a fair and living wage, and our full-time staff receives health insurance benefits.
During the current COVID-19 circumstances we are committed to keeping our community and staff safe and healthy. We ask all guests to wash their hands upon entering the café, wearing a mask at all times, limit 5 guests inside at one time. We are grateful for the opportunity to continue to serve excellent coffee and food to our San Leandro family.
Please, come see us at the cafe or reach out with any wholesale inquiries you may have for your office or hospitality business of your own. Whatever your needs, we love talking coffee and are here to help.