Repair Cafes Expand Across San Francisco

Free fix-it events at libraries and neighborhood workshops are keeping household items out of landfills.

Updated on Nov. 7, 2026 in Home Repair

Vector-style editorial illustration of an open vintage toaster on a wooden workbench with hand tools and a folded cloth beside it, in warm coral, sage, and cream tones. — San Francisco's free repair cafes at public libraries and neighborhood workshops are helping residents fix broken household items and keep usable goods out of landfills. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Would you bring a broken household item to a free repair event instead of replacing it?

San Francisco's repair cafe movement has grown through free fix-it events at public libraries and neighborhood workshops. The Haight-Nopa Repair Café and Mission Repair Cafe have opened as independent community groups.

Why it matters

The events aim to keep usable items out of landfills while making repair skills and resources more accessible to residents. They also reflect a broader push for repairability, supported in part by California's Right to Repair Act.

At Haight-Nopa's October event, volunteers repaired 66 of 84 items, a 79% success rate, with 17 volunteer repairers staffing stations. Mission Repair Cafe's inaugural gathering repaired 59 items and diverted 212 pounds of material from the landfill, but the source does not indicate how these figures compare with prior periods.

The players

San Francisco Environment Department

The city agency that has partnered with the San Francisco Public Library since 2023 and awarded a Zero Waste Grant to the Haight-Nopa Repair Café.

San Francisco Public Library

The public library system that hosts free clothing and bicycle repair clinics in partnership with the Environment Department.

The details

Volunteer repairers help residents fix broken household items and damaged clothing, often teaching them to do the work themselves. At both cafes, successful repairs are celebrated, and participants weigh repaired items to see how much material has been kept out of the trash.

October 2025: Haight-Nopa Repair Café began meeting at Park Branch Library every other month.
March: Haight-Nopa Repair Café received a Zero Waste Grant from the San Francisco Environment Department.
September: Mission Repair Cafe drew more than 100 participants to a housing co-op.
November 17, 2026: Co-founder Claire Bonham Carter hosts a workshop at Park Branch Library on starting repair cafes.

Roadmap

California's Right to Repair Act, effective in 2024, requires manufacturers to provide repair resources for three years on products priced $50 to $99.99 and seven years on products priced $100 or more. San Francisco's repair cafes extend that policy direction into volunteer-run, community-based repair.

Residents can bring broken household items, damaged clothing, and other belongings to free repair events at participating libraries and neighborhood workshops. The events also teach people how to make basic repairs themselves, reducing the need to replace items.

The takeaway

Repairing a household item before replacing it can keep usable goods out of the trash and save money. Check whether a local library or community group in your area hosts a repair event before discarding something that might be fixable.

What happens next

Library repair clinics continue at the Park Branch and North Beach branches on November 7, 2026, and Claire Bonham Carter will host a workshop on starting repair cafes at Park Branch Library on November 17, 2026.