Quick Take

Part coffee shop, restaurant, bar and workspace, downtown Santa Cruz's 11th Hour Coffee has reopened after a three-month remodel. New floors, a renovated dining area and an expanded café, along with an expanded event lineup, have revitalized what has become a vital downtown hub and “third space” for the community.

Downtown Santa Cruz hub 11th Hour Coffee, located in the Santa Cruz Art Center on Center Street, is greater than the sum of its parts – and the multi-use space on Center Street has a lot of parts.

It’s a coffee shop, a bar, a workspace, an event venue and a plant store. It also houses a shared kitchen used by four local businesses, including two small restaurants, Full Steam Dumpling and Chubbs Chicken Sandwiches. On any day, from the morning coffee rush through the evening, the dining room and patio are full of people working, studying, meeting friends and enjoying a well-crafted bite or buzz. 

For three months, that came to a halt while 11th Hour’s owners, brothers Joel and Brayden Estby, closed the interior for a remodel, while continuing to serve patrons on the outside patio. 11th Hour reopened last weekend with a bright and airy new design and the return of an event lineup that includes trivia, open mics, drag bingo and comedy. 

11th Hour Coffee's downtown location reopened with new floors, seating and an expanded café.
11th Hour Coffee’s downtown location reopened with new floors, seating and an expanded café. Credit: Natasha Loudermilk / Lookout Santa Cruz

According to Joel Estby, 11th Hour’s downtown location was always more than just a coffee shop. “Our ideal description is a ‘third space’ where people can feel comfortable and make friends,” he said. “We want to sell really great cocktails and really good coffee, but it’s the people that make the space.”

The Estby brothers founded 11th Hour Coffee in 2017 as a coffee cart at local farmers markets. They opened their first café at this location inside what was then known as the Santa Cruz Food Lounge in 2018, and opened a second location on the Westside in Santa Cruz in 2021, in the former Kelly’s French Bakery. In 2022, Food Lounge founder Andrea Mollenaur passed management of the downtown space to the Estby brothers, and they’ve continued to expand its uses with entertainment and a craft cocktail menu at the After Hours bar. 

  • Joel Estby co-owns 11th Hour Coffee and manages the downtown space with his brother, Brayden Estby.
    Joel Estby co-owns 11th Hour Coffee and manages the downtown space with his brother, Brayden Estby. Credit: Natasha Loudermilk / Lookout Santa Cruz
  • In addition to its coffee and pastries like mousse cake, 11th Hour added shakshuka and other brunch items.
    In addition to its coffee and pastries like mousse cake, 11th Hour added shakshuka and other brunch items. Credit: Natasha Loudermilk / Lookout Santa Cruz

During the remodel, the building underwent some much-needed updates, including new plumbing, floors and electrical fittings. They installed sleek wood benches for more seating, expanded the café’s kitchen – there’s also a large professional kitchen that it shares with four tenants – and added a second espresso machine. A wall was removed to open the space in order to increase light and improve air flow. 

All of the updates will help 11th Hour function more easily and efficiently, said Joel. “We’ll be able to offer faster service and make things more comfortable for our team while keeping our essential vibes,” he said. 

The bar at 11th Hour, called After Hours, will launch a menu of brunch cocktails at the end of October.
The bar at 11th Hour, called After Hours, will launch a menu of brunch cocktails at the end of October. Credit: Natasha Loudermilk / Lookout Santa Cruz

New menu items were added at the café, including shakshuka, a tomato stew with poached eggs, a hashbrown and a croque madame, a grilled cheese sandwich with bechamel sauce. Sandwiches are made on house-baked focaccia, and the baking team, led by Talia Damon, continues to provide creative pastries and baked goods, including plush candied pistachio financiers, Earl Grey cookies and passionfruit cheesecake. The team plans to add more items and vegan breakfast choices based on customer feedback. Brunch service, including a fresh lineup of specialty cocktails, will be launched later this month.

With the reopening also comes a fresh calendar of events, such as weekly trivia on Thursdays and biweekly open mic nights. Comedy, held on the first Saturday of each month, starts this Saturday, Oct. 5, in partnership with the Santa Cruz Comedy Festival. Monthly drag bingo, hosted by 11th Hour barista Annie Semite, launches on Wednesday, Oct. 23. 

1001 Center St., Santa Cruz; 831-322-4599; 11thhourcoffee.com.

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Lily Belli is the food and drink correspondent at Lookout Santa Cruz. Over the past 15 years since she made Santa Cruz her home, Lily has fallen deeply in love with its rich food culture, vibrant agriculture...