Free Repair Cafes Spread Across San Francisco
Residents can bring broken household items, clothing and bikes to library clinics and neighborhood repair cafes at no cost.
Updated on Nov. 7, 2026 in Home Repair
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San Franciscans who have a broken toaster, a torn jacket or a stalled bike now have more places to get them fixed for free. Free repair clinics at public libraries and neighborhood repair cafes are expanding across the city.
Why it matters
Repair cafes and library clinics keep usable household items out of landfills while teaching residents to fix their own belongings, which can stretch a tight household budget. The state's Right to Repair Act, in effect since 2024, also 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.
Haight-Nopa's October event repaired 66 of 84 items, a 79% success rate, with 17 volunteer repairers at stations. The Mission Repair Cafe's first gathering fixed 59 items and kept 212 pounds out of the landfill, and it received more than 150 volunteer applications and accepted 35.
The players
San Francisco Environment Department
The city agency that partners with the public library on repair clinics, awards Zero Waste Grants, and pays repair coaches. It has been a central funder of the city's repair programs.
San Francisco Public Library
The city library system that has hosted free clothing and bicycle repair clinics with the Environment Department since 2023. Its branches, including Park Branch and North Beach, serve as clinic sites.
Haight-Nopa Repair Café
A neighborhood repair cafe that meets every other month at Park Branch Library and drew 84 items to its October event. It is one of the two independent cafes behind the citywide movement.
Mission Repair Cafe
A neighborhood repair cafe started by Allie McAndrews after she volunteered with the Haight-Nopa group. Its inaugural gathering repaired 59 items.
Claire Bonham Carter
A co-founder of the repair cafe movement who will host the November 17 workshop on starting neighborhood repair cafes at Park Branch Library.
The details
Volunteer repairers help residents fix broken household items and damaged clothing, often teaching them to do the work themselves. The Haight-Nopa Repair Café has met at Park Branch Library every other month since October 2025 and received a Zero Waste Grant from the San Francisco Environment Department in March. The San Francisco Environment Department has also partnered with the San Francisco Public Library since 2023 to host free clothing and bicycle repair clinics with SCRAP and Bay Area BikeMobile, and it pays repair coaches for their time.
Timeline
October 2025: Haight-Nopa Repair Café began meeting at Park Branch Library.
March: Haight-Nopa Repair Café received a Zero Waste Grant from SF Environment.
September: Mission Repair Cafe held an event drawing more than 100 participants.
November 7, 2026: Library repair clinics continue at Park Branch and North Beach branches.
November 17, 2026: Co-founder Claire Bonham Carter hosts a workshop on starting repair cafes at Park Branch Library.
Across the Bay
The repair cafes build on the state's Right to Repair Act, which since 2024 requires manufacturers to supply repair resources for three or seven years depending on price. Residents can now pair those manufacturer obligations with free neighborhood fixes that the Act does not cover.
If you have a broken appliance, torn clothing or a bike in need of work, you can bring it to a library clinic or neighborhood repair cafe and often leave with it fixed. Check the Park Branch and North Beach branch schedules before you go.
The takeaway
Repair is a skill your neighbors are willing to teach, and the city is paying for it. Bring one broken item to the next library clinic or Haight-Nopa session and watch how many of them come back working.
What happens next
The November 17, 2026 workshop at Park Branch Library will teach residents how to start their own neighborhood repair cafe, and library repair clinics continue at Park Branch and North Beach branches on November 7, 2026.
Further reading
For more on fixing rather than replacing, browse the city's Home Repair coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by SFist - San Francisco News, Restaurants, Events, & Sports.
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Would you bring a broken household item to a free repair event instead of replacing it?
