In 2023, when Groovy Goose was new, Nathan Conte would stand outside downtown cafes and stop customers on their way out, Starbucks among them. As the San Mateo Daily Journal reported, he asked what they had ordered and offered to make the same drink again, free, with Groovy Goose ingredients. "I'd say 'You can taste and compare, because I know what we have is better,'" he told the paper.
That Starbucks on San Carlos Avenue is gone now, and so is the one on Industrial Road. Downtown has several cafes within a block or two of the old San Carlos Avenue store. The bigger change came east of El Camino Real. The cafes still open there are good ones, but they keep daytime hours. Neither opens before 7 a.m., and neither posts weekend hours.
What closed, and when
On Sept. 24, Starbucks announced it would close 250 underperforming stores across North America. KRON4 checked the company's store locator and counted at least 13 Bay Area stores on the list. Two were in San Carlos, at 1135 Industrial Road and 1187 San Carlos Ave. ABC7 reported on Saturday, Sept. 26, that Starbucks said the closing stores' last day open was that same day.
San Carlos had four Starbucks stores, so it now has two, according to the Daily Journal. No one has announced a new tenant for either empty storefront.
Downtown lost a store but kept its coffee
The San Carlos Avenue store sat less than 100 feet from Groovy Goose, at 1221 San Carlos Ave., according to the Daily Journal. Nathan and Siera Conte opened the cafe in the summer of 2023. An earlier Daily Journal profile tells that story, and the name comes from "Goose," the couple's nickname for their oldest child. The cafe is open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day. Its website says its bagged coffee is roasted to order in San Carlos. The Daily Journal also says plainly that nothing connects the Starbucks closure to how well Groovy Goose is doing.
Over on Laurel Street, Plantation Coffee Roastery at 784 Laurel St. has already seen several chains arrive. In a Daily Journal profile of the family that runs it, Brian Cheong said Peet's, Philz and Starbucks had all moved in nearby over the years. He estimated that about 80% of the shop's business came from longtime regulars. His parents, Sue and Young Cheong, have run Plantation since 2000. In the back is a German-made roaster that the shop's original owner bought in 1981, and Young roasts the beans every morning. When that profile ran, Sue was turning on the lights at 4:30 a.m., and regulars were often already waiting outside. The profile is a few years old, so call the shop to confirm its hours before you plan a pre-dawn stop around it.
The rest of the downtown list is just as close:
- Peet's Coffee, 677 Laurel St., Suite B, opens at 5 a.m. on weekdays and 6 a.m. on weekends, and closes at 6 p.m. every day, according to Peet's store page.
- Sunshine HK Cafe, 635 Laurel St., is a Hong Kong-style cafe whose menu includes yuen yang, the coffee and milk tea blend.
- Mints & Honey, 1524 El Camino Real, is open 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day except Tuesday. Its locations page also states a house rule: no laptops on weekends or holidays.
All together, that's five independent and chain cafes within walking distance of each other. Someone who used to walk to 1187 San Carlos Ave. now has a choice of other cafes for the same morning walk.
East of El Camino, coffee keeps weekday hours
The two cafes nearest to the closed Industrial Road store are worth knowing well, and neither keeps chain-store hours.
Papachay Peruvian Coffee, at 1431 Old County Road, is open Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., and closed Saturday and Sunday, according to its website. In 2024, KQED wrote about it. It is run by Maximiliano Gambirazio and Juliana Zieira-Gambirazio, who spent nearly 20 years in a San Carlos warehouse, first selling raw beans to roasters and later roasting their own. They opened the cafe in 2018. The couple owns two coffee farms on the eastern slope of the Andes, near the town of Villa Rica, and gets its beans directly from them.
KQED's article also explains how the cafe started. Before it opened, neighbors slipped notes under the warehouse door asking to buy fresh-brewed coffee. Then smoke from the roasting brought calls to the fire department, which told the couple to put up a sign saying they were coffee roasters. Zieira-Gambirazio said the sign brought in even more customers. The cafe also sells Peruvian chocolate and pão de queijo, the Brazilian cheese bread. On Sundays, KQED reported, the couple sells at the Mountain View Farmers' Market, not in San Carlos.
Farther up the corridor, Salt + Brine at The Alexandria, 835 Industrial Road, serves coffee, breakfast and lunch from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., according to The Alexandria's food page. The page describes it as a place for co-working and remote work, with counter service and grab-and-go food. The posted hours don't say which days it's open.
Both places keep daytime hours. Neither has posted hours before 7 a.m. Papachay is closed on weekends, and Salt + Brine doesn't say whether it opens on Saturday. If your Saturday coffee used to be on Industrial Road, check with Salt + Brine first. The only weekend hours posted anywhere on this list are on the downtown side.
Where the morning coffee run goes, hour by hour
This list puts all seven cafes in one place, sorted by when they open, using each one's most recent posted hours.
| Cafe | Address | Side of town | Posted hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plantation Coffee Roastery | 784 Laurel St. | Downtown | Opened at 4:30 a.m. in its Daily Journal profile; confirm current hours |
| Peet's Coffee | 677 Laurel St., Suite B | Downtown | 5 a.m.–6 p.m. weekdays, 6 a.m.–6 p.m. weekends |
| Groovy Goose | 1221 San Carlos Ave. | Downtown | 7 a.m.–5 p.m. daily |
| Papachay Peruvian Coffee | 1431 Old County Rd. | East | 7 a.m.–2 p.m. Mon–Fri, closed weekends |
| Salt + Brine at The Alexandria | 835 Industrial Rd. | East | 7:30 a.m.–6 p.m., days not listed |
| Mints & Honey | 1524 El Camino Real | El Camino | 8 a.m.–2 p.m., closed Tuesdays |
| Sunshine HK Cafe | 635 Laurel St. | Downtown | Check before visiting |
The two earliest openers are both on Laurel Street, and the earliest east-side option opens at 7 a.m. Both east-side cafes on the list close by early evening, and Papachay, the only one there with posted days, is closed both weekend days.
What would change the east-side map
The empty storefront at 1135 Industrial Road is the one to watch. A new tenant there could bring back early or weekend coffee on that side of town, but no tenant has been announced. The same goes for 1187 San Carlos Ave., though that space is surrounded by cafes in every direction.
Until one of those spaces fills, the clearest change from September is this. On weekdays, someone on the east side has two well-run cafes with farm-direct and fresh-made options. For anything before 7 a.m., or a weekend cup at a cafe with posted weekend hours, the nearest options are on Laurel Street, where Plantation and Peet's open first.
I've watched San Carlos businesses come and go on these streets for years, and I keep an eye on which empty storefronts get new tenants, Industrial Road especially. If you have questions about what's planned for your part of town, or you want to talk over a cup at one of these cafes, Bob Bredel is happy to meet. Call Bob.
