About CafeLocation

CafeLocation is a free guide to the coffee shops of California’s cities. We cover 72 cities with more than 100,000 people and 4,789 cafés, from neighborhood espresso bars to drive-thru stands.

Where the listings come from

Independent cafés come from OpenStreetMap, the map that volunteers keep up to date around the world. Chain locations (Starbucks, Peet’s Coffee, Dutch Bros, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Philz, Blue Bottle, Dunkin’ and Verve) come from each brand’s own store locator.

How “open now” works

We read each café’s posted hours and compare them with the current time in California. Holiday hours and temporary closures are often missing, so call ahead when it matters.

Café types

Each café is sorted into a type, such as specialty roaster, bakery café or drive-thru, based on how it describes itself. The short “what it’s known for” and “why go” notes are written from those details, not from paid placements.

Fixing a listing

If you own a café or spot a mistake, send us a correction. You can also fix independent cafés directly on OpenStreetMap, and the change will reach this site when we next update.