Cicchetti Commons

The bacaro as neighborhood living room.

Between 2 and 5pm, Tuesday through Sunday, we open the doors and step back. No programming, no agenda. Just the space, the light, and whoever shows up.

Cicchetti Commons is free, open to the neighborhood, and runs on the simple idea that a good room should be used. We've hosted clothing exchanges, mahjong games, children's playgroups, a cat rescue organization, a community garden collective, and the local block association. We've had people come in to read, to work, to sit quietly with a coffee. We don't ask what you're here for.

The bacari of Venice weren't just places to eat and drink. They were the rooms where the neighbourhood happened: where you ran into your neighbor, where the conversation started that didn't end until midnight. Cicchetti Commons is that idea, in the middle of a Tuesday afternoon on Howard Avenue.

If you'd like to use the space for a community gathering, you're welcome to apply. We ask only that it's free to attend, open to the public, and consistent with the spirit of the place.

Apply via the form on this page. We'll be in touch.