Circus Cooperative Cafe

"For those who remember Darwin’s — a local coffee shop chain that shut down at the end of 2022 — Circus may feel familiar, as it's in a former Darwin’s location and owned by former Darwin’s employees. But the set-up is different this time around: The former employees banded together to launch Circus as a worker-owned cooperative, meaning that eligible staff can become owners and engage in profit-sharing and deciding collectively how to run the business. The food menu is stocked with both new and old favorites, including the Mt. Auburn sandwich (named after Darwin’s first location), and they source their coffee from Equal Exchange, a fellow worker-owned cooperative." - Erika Adams

"This worker-owned cafe is a quick walk from the riverfront, offering a menu that features coffee drinks, beverages, baked goods, and sandwiches. Locals may be reminded of Darwin’s, the beloved neighborhood cafe that used to be in the same spot. After Darwin’s closure last year, a group of its former employees raised enough funds to open Circus, a move welcomed by the community." - Erika Adams, Valerie Li Stack

"Circus Cooperative Cafe, a worker-owned coffee shop run by a group of former Darwin’s employees, has risen from the ashes of a closed-down Darwin’s location in Harvard Square." - Erika Adams

"Some days we want the sandwich equivalent of Mad Max: Fury Road, and that’s when we head to All Star Sandwich Bar for sandwiches as excessive as guitar-shredding on a garbage truck with 215 speakers. Other times, we just want a more simple and utilitarian Sleepless in Seattle meat-bread combo, and that’s when we go to Darwin’s. All the bread is baked in-house, and the other ingredients are super high quality, so you’ll leave as satisfied as the 68th time you watched Tom Hanks argue with his kid about whether to meet an engaged stranger. We recommend the Magazine sandwich with roast beef and sun-dried tomato-pesto mayo." - joel ang