Your Neighbors Know How to Fix Things.

Bringing neighbors together to fix what's broken, reduce waste, and keep skills alive.

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What Is a Repair Café?

A Repair Café is a free community gathering where people bring broken items and work alongside skilled volunteers to fix them together, hands-on.

Born in Amsterdam in 2009, Repair Cafés have spread to almost 4,000 locations worldwide. The idea is simple: instead of throwing something away, bring it in. Volunteer repair coaches (people with real skills in electronics, sewing, mechanics, and more) sit down with you, assess the problem together, and guide you through the repair process. Learn more about the Repair Café Foundation →

This isn't a drop-off service. You roll up your sleeves, work alongside the volunteer, and leave knowing both how to fix your item and a little more about how it works. The volunteer is your guide; you both work together to complete the repair.

Best of all: it's free. No charges, no appointments, no judgment! Donations are appreciated to cover our operating costs and purchase shared tools.

🌏
~4,000
Repair Cafés worldwide
via repaircafe.org
~70%
of items successfully repaired
via repaircafe.org
💚
Free
Always free for visitors
🌳
Less Waste
Items fixed, not trashed

Our Mission

The Peninsula is a vibrant, diverse region stretching along the Bay and the coast. But like everywhere else, we throw too much away.

We serve:
BelmontBurlingameDaly City Half Moon BayMenlo ParkMillbrae PacificaRedwood City San BrunoSan CarlosSan Mateo South San Francisco& surrounding areas
🏘️

Build Community

Create a welcoming space where people from all walks of life meet, connect, and share skills. Repair Cafés are as much about human connection as they are about fixing things.

🌿

Reduce Waste

The Bay Area sends millions of pounds of electronics and household goods to landfill every year. We want to keep as many items as possible out of the waste stream, one repair at a time.

🔧

Revive Repair Skills

We live in a throwaway culture. Our goal is to connect experienced fixers with people eager to learn; and make repair feel approachable, not intimidating.

📍

Stay Local & Grassroots

We are a small, community-run effort with no corporate backing and no red tape. Just people who believe in fixing things and helping their neighbors.

What We Fix

Got something broken? Bring it and get your hands dirty alongside a volunteer repair coach.

🔌

Electronics & Small Appliances

Lamps, fans, radios, chargers, headphones, and similar small appliances: if it plugs in or runs on batteries, bring it in and work with a volunteer to diagnose and fix it.

🧳

Sewing & Textiles

Torn seams, missing buttons, frayed hems, and worn fabric: bring your clothing, bags, and soft goods and stitch them back together with a volunteer guiding the way.

🏠

Furniture & Wood

Wobbly chairs, broken hinges, stuck drawers: bring it in and get hands-on with a volunteer to stabilize, reattach, and restore it together.

🏭

Toys, Ceramics, Jewelry & Everything Else

Broken toys, chipped mugs, cracked ceramics, broken necklaces, loose clasps, games missing pieces, and the household things that don't fit anywhere else. Roll up your sleeves and puzzle it out with a volunteer, and if it truly can't be fixed, we'll tell you honestly.

🚫 Please don't bring:

  • Large appliances
  • Bicycles — we support local bike shops and are happy to provide referrals
  • Earbuds, mobile phones, cameras, and watches
  • Toasters or ovens
  • Three-phase power tools
  • Sewing alterations — we do repairs only, not alterations or resizing
  • Broken items missing critical parts that can't reasonably be sourced
  • Vehicles or motorized equipment
  • Items in hazardous condition (leaking batteries, cracked screens, mold)

If you're unsure, email us at info@repaircafepeninsula.org before the event.

Our First Event

We're planning our inaugural Repair Café event for late summer 2026 somewhere on the Peninsula.

Details, including the exact date, time, and location, are still coming together. Sign up below to be the first to know. We'll announce everything via email as soon as it's confirmed.

Notify Me
Coming Late Summer 2026 The Peninsula, CA

Frequently Asked Questions

Drop-in, no appointment needed. Just show up during event hours with your item and we'll get you set up with a volunteer. We may ask you to add your name to a waitlist if things get busy, but there's no pre-registration required.

It varies a lot depending on the item. Simple fixes (a button, a loose connection, etc.) might take 15–20 minutes. More complex repairs could take an hour or more. You'll be working alongside the volunteer the whole time, so plan to stay and be hands-on for the duration.

We'll always be upfront. If a repair is beyond what we can tackle together on the day (wrong tools, missing parts, or a fault that needs a specialist), we'll say so clearly and suggest next steps where we can. We never guarantee a fix, but you and your volunteer will always give it an honest best effort.

We ask that you bring a maximum of one item per visit so that every visitor gets quality time working hands-on with a volunteer. If it's a quiet event, we're happy to tackle more.

Yes, completely free for visitors. Repair Cafés around the world operate on this principle: skilled volunteers give their time, and the community benefits. We may have a tip jar or small donation box for those who want to contribute to future events, but it is never expected or required.

We'd love to have you. Sign up for our mailing list and tell us a bit about your skills and we'll be in touch. We're looking for volunteers who can commit to roughly 3–4 hours at a single event. No prior volunteering experience needed.

Not currently. Repair Café of the Peninsula is a grassroots community initiative. We're starting small to evaluate interest and feasibility before committing to formal incorporation. If the demand is there and it makes sense, we plan to pursue nonprofit status down the road. For now, any donations are not tax-deductible. We appreciate your support regardless.

Our first event is targeted for late summer 2026, and we're still searching for the venue. Sign up for our mailing list to be the first to know when we announce it. Going forward, the goal is to hold events regularly based on demand, rotating around the Peninsula so we can reach different communities over time. As we grow and get more volunteers and resources under our belt, we'd love to increase our event frequency.

Stay in the Loop

Whether you want to volunteer, donate tools, or just be the first to know when we announce our first event; sign up and we'll be in touch.

Sign Up

Follow Us

Keep up with news, event announcements, and behind-the-scenes updates on our socials.