Aqus Cafe is not your ordinary place to just buy a cup of coffee. The Cafe has been created to foster community; it is a gathering place, a conversation room, a wonderful 3rd space option. Aqus' main purpose in creating social capital is to provide a space for people to meet, connect and get to know each other.

John Crowley, owner of Aqus Cafe, believes that to fix the fabric of society we have to first start by meeting, connecting, getting to know and understand each other.

Several forces and influences collaborated in the creation of Aqus, the Cafe. Originally from Ireland, John grew up in his grandfather's pub pouring his first Guiness at age 12. More than that he witnessed first hand the valuable role the pub played in his community on the outskirts of Dublin. The pub acted as a community center providing a place for people to connect and gather, where one could find someone to fix your car, babysit or even marry.

About ten years ago, living in America, John read Robert Putman's commentary on demise of social fabric and connections in the US, Bowling Alone, and it affected him deeply. He realized there was something he could do in his own community. One evening John gathered some people through an email invitation for the beginning of what is now the Aqus Pub Crawl.

The pub crawl is once again, more than it may sound, it is not all about how many pints you can imbibe. One of his favorite themes is to invite people to bring one book that changed your life, and you must give it away to someone on the crawl. It is about bringing people together, to connect, engage in conversation and share time together. There are typically three to four stops with many people joining.

From the success of the Aqus Pub Crawl came the delightful cafe that now sits in the Foundry Wharf in South Petaluma.

Interested in more? You may join Aqus Cafe News and learn more about upcoming Pub Crawls through their website as www.aquscafe.com. You can enjoy breakfast, lunch, a pint, live local entertainment and more at Aqus Cafe 189 H Street, at the corner of 2nd and H Streets in Petaluma.