35 North Coffee Has Two Entrances Off the Santa Fe Plaza

Thomas Garner

Oct 7

11 min read

Shaded lawn, benches and the Soldiers Monument obelisk on the historic Santa Fe Plaza

Photo: Devilstocksoup, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Santa Fe Plaza is the single most visited pocket of the city's coffee scene, and 35 North Coffee sits right in the middle of it, inside the building most locals still call the Santa Fe Arcade. What makes this location worth describing specifically is not just where it sits, but how a visitor actually gets in. There are two ways, not one, and knowing both matters if you are trying to find the place on foot.

35 North's address, its level 2 setting inside a historic arcade, and its dual entrance are all worth laying out plainly, because together they describe a cafe that is genuinely built for how the Plaza actually moves.

It helps to picture the Plaza itself for a moment. Santa Fe's Plaza is a compact, historic square, ringed by covered walkways, museums, and shops that have occupied these same buildings for generations. Foot traffic here does not move in one direction along one main street the way it might in a newer downtown. It circles the square, crosses it diagonally, and spills off in several directions at once, which is exactly the kind of environment where a single entrance can genuinely cost a business real visitors who simply approached from the wrong side.

Inside the Shops at Santa Fe Plaza

35 North Coffee operates at 60 E San Francisco Street Suite 201, inside the building known today as the Shops at Santa Fe Plaza and long known locally as the Santa Fe Arcade. That building sits directly on the Plaza itself, in the heart of downtown Santa Fe's busiest single block.

A cafe located inside a shared arcade building, rather than a freestanding storefront, is a common setup in a dense historic downtown like this one, and it puts 35 North in direct contact with the Plaza's steady foot traffic of visitors, museum goers, and anyone circling the block on a normal day.

Being inside a shared arcade building rather than a standalone storefront also means 35 North benefits from whatever other foot traffic the building itself pulls in, shoppers browsing the arcade's other stores, people cutting through the building as a shortcut between streets, visitors simply curious what is inside a building this historic. A cafe in this position does not need to generate every bit of its own foot traffic independently the way a shop on a quieter side street would.

A Second Entrance on Water Street

What sets this particular location apart is that it is not accessible from only one direction. Alongside the main entrance off San Francisco Street, 35 North also has a second entrance around the corner, at 113 E Water Street. A visitor walking either street can find their way in without having to circle the entire block first.

That detail matters more than it might seem for a cafe sitting inside a shared arcade building. A visitor coming from the Water Street side of downtown, perhaps after visiting a gallery or another shop along that stretch, has a direct way in rather than needing to already know the arcade's main entrance sits around the corner on San Francisco Street.

Two entrances off two different streets is, in a small but real way, a design that matches exactly how foot traffic moves around the Plaza, coming in from multiple directions rather than a single predictable line.

Water Street itself carries its own steady flow of downtown visitors, distinct from the crowd moving along San Francisco Street on the Plaza's other side. A cafe with a genuine, working entrance on each street effectively gets two separate chances to catch a visitor's attention, rather than depending entirely on people already circling toward its one and only door.

Level Two, With a Patio Over Water Street

35 North describes its room as sitting on level 2 of the Shops at Santa Fe Plaza, the building it notes was formerly the Santa Fe Arcade. That second level placement is part of what makes the cafe feel like a find. A visitor steps off the busy Plaza sidewalk, climbs one level inside the arcade, and lands in a coffee room above the street traffic rather than beside it.

The cafe also points visitors to a patio overlooking Water Street. For a downtown where so much of the coffee is taken standing at a counter or carried out onto a crowded sidewalk, a seat above Water Street is a real draw, a place to sit with a cup and watch the Plaza side of downtown go by from one floor up.

Put the level and the patio together and the Suite 201 in the address starts to make sense. It is not an obscure back office suite. It is the second floor room with a view, reachable from the Plaza through the arcade or from the Water Street side through its own door.

A Cafe Built for the Plaza's Actual Traffic

Put the address, the level 2 room and the two entrances together, and 35 North reads as a cafe built around how the Plaza functions, not a generic downtown coffee shop that happens to sit near a landmark. It occupies a historic arcade building at the center of Santa Fe's busiest tourist block, welcomes visitors from two different streets, and gives them a seat above Water Street once they are inside.

For anyone new to Santa Fe or visiting for the first time, that combination, a known building, two clear entrances and a patio one floor up, is exactly the kind of detail that turns a vague plan to grab coffee near the Plaza into an actual visit.

It is worth naming what a harder version of this same location might look like, for contrast. A second floor room inside a shared arcade with only one hard to find door would be working against its own advantages. Two street level ways in, one from the Plaza side and one from Water Street, turn a level 2 suite into a cafe that is easy to reach from whichever direction a visitor happens to be walking.

The Plaza's Own Coffee Landmark

Every one of Santa Fe's coffee pockets has its own anchor, and for the Plaza and Downtown Arcade, 35 North occupies that role about as directly as a cafe can. Its address puts it inside the historic building most associated with Plaza shopping, its dual entrance meets visitors coming from either direction, and its level 2 patio gives a seat above Water Street in the busiest part of the city.

None of that requires a visitor to already know Santa Fe well. It only requires knowing to look for the Shops at Santa Fe Plaza, and knowing that either San Francisco Street or Water Street will get you there.

That combination, a well known building, two accessible entrances and a second floor patio, is worth understanding as a whole rather than as three separate details. Each piece reinforces the others, and together they explain why this particular cafe functions so directly as the Plaza's own coffee landmark rather than simply being one of several options a visitor might stumble across.

Why Location Inside a Shared Building Matters

A cafe inside a shared historic arcade building faces a different set of challenges than a standalone storefront, and it is worth understanding what those are. A visitor who has never been to the Shops at Santa Fe Plaza before may not immediately realize that a coffee room operates inside it at all, since the exterior of a shared arcade reads as one building housing several separate businesses rather than a single obvious coffee shop front.

That is why the full address line matters so much for a room like this one: 60 East San Francisco Street, Suite 201, level 2 of the Shops at Santa Fe Plaza, with a second entrance at 113 East Water Street. Each piece does a job. The street gets a visitor to the right block, the building name gets them to the right door, the suite and level get them up the stairs to the right room.

Seen this way, the two entrance detail is not simply a nice extra fact. It is a necessary piece of navigation for a shared arcade location, the kind of detail that decides whether a visitor finds the cafe on the first try or gives up after one confused lap around the block. Anyone passing along directions to 35 North should give the whole line, building, level and both streets.

A Landmark Worth Recommending Confidently

There is a particular kind of confidence that comes from being able to give someone else clear, accurate directions to a place, rather than a vague gesture toward a general area. Because 35 North's building, level and two entrances are easy to describe in one sentence, anyone who has visited once can pass along useful directions to someone else without hesitation.

That matters more than it might seem for a Plaza area cafe specifically, since word of mouth recommendations in a heavily visited tourist area often come from hotel staff, tour guides, or other locals fielding a constant stream of the same question, where is good coffee near here. A location that is easy to describe accurately, inside the Shops at Santa Fe Plaza, reachable from either San Francisco Street or Water Street, is a location that gets recommended with confidence rather than a vague shrug toward downtown in general.

That kind of confident, repeatable word of mouth is exactly the sort of quiet, compounding advantage a clear, well described location earns over time, distinct from and additional to whatever a search engine or map app happens to show on any given day.

The First Stop for Many Visitors

For a large share of Santa Fe's coffee drinkers, specifically the visitors staying near or walking through the Plaza on their first day in the city, 35 North is one of the first Santa Fe coffee shops they will encounter. That is a real responsibility, and the clear building, the level 2 room and the two entrances all work to make that first encounter as smooth as possible.

A visitor's very first cup of coffee in a new city tends to shape their sense of the place more than a shop owner might expect. A location this easy to find and walk into removes one entire layer of friction from that first encounter, letting the coffee itself, rather than a confusing search for the door, be the thing a visitor remembers.

That first impression matters well beyond the single visit itself. A visitor who found 35 North easily, walking in through whichever entrance happened to be closest and taking a seat above Water Street, carries that smooth experience home with them, along with whatever they tell friends and family about their trip to Santa Fe. A cafe that becomes part of a good memory of the Plaza is a cafe that gets recommended long after the visitor has flown home.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is 35 North Coffee located?

35 North Coffee is located at 60 East San Francisco Street, Suite 201, on level 2 of the Shops at Santa Fe Plaza, the building long known locally as the Santa Fe Arcade, right on the Santa Fe Plaza itself. A second entrance at 113 East Water Street lets visitors reach it from the other side of the block.

Is there a second entrance to 35 North Coffee?

Yes. Alongside its main entrance off San Francisco Street on the Plaza side, 35 North Coffee has a second entrance at 113 East Water Street. Visitors can walk in from either street without circling the whole block, which matters for a level 2 room inside the Shops at Santa Fe Plaza arcade building. The cafe's own homepage spells out both doors, the Plaza address at 60 East San Francisco Street and the Water Street entrance.

What floor is 35 North Coffee on?

35 North Coffee sits on level 2 of the Shops at Santa Fe Plaza, which is why its address carries Suite 201 at 60 East San Francisco Street. The cafe also points visitors to a patio overlooking Water Street, so a seat there puts a coffee one floor above the downtown sidewalk on the Water Street side of the Plaza.

What building is 35 North Coffee inside?

35 North Coffee operates inside the building now known as the Shops at Santa Fe Plaza, which many locals still call by its older name, the Santa Fe Arcade. It sits directly on the Plaza in the heart of downtown Santa Fe, with the cafe on level 2 at Suite 201 and entrances off both San Francisco Street and Water Street.

Why does the two entrance layout matter?

Because the Plaza pulls foot traffic from several directions at once, a cafe reachable from both 60 East San Francisco Street and 113 East Water Street can catch visitors coming from either side of downtown. Someone leaving a gallery on the Water Street side has a direct way in, with no need to already know where the arcade's main door sits. For a Suite 201 room one level up, that second street level door does real work.

Is 35 North Coffee only for tourists?

No. Its Plaza address puts it in the path of Santa Fe's heaviest visitor foot traffic, yet the two street level entrances and central downtown position serve locals passing through as well. Santa Fe city counts 88,224 residents in the 2023 American Community Survey, and plenty of them cross the Plaza on ordinary errands. A resident cutting over from Water Street can walk in as easily as a first time visitor coming off San Francisco Street.

Does 35 North Coffee have outdoor seating?

The cafe points visitors to a patio overlooking Water Street from its level 2 room in the Shops at Santa Fe Plaza. That puts outdoor seats one floor above the Water Street side of downtown, a short walk from the Plaza itself and reachable through the 113 East Water Street entrance or through the arcade from San Francisco Street.

How should someone give directions to 35 North Coffee?

Give the whole line: 60 East San Francisco Street, Suite 201, level 2 of the Shops at Santa Fe Plaza, formerly the Santa Fe Arcade, with a second entrance at 113 East Water Street. The street finds the block, the building finds the door, and the level and suite find the room above the Plaza sidewalk.

Which Santa Fe coffee pocket does 35 North Coffee anchor?

35 North Coffee anchors the Plaza and Downtown Arcade pocket, one of six distinct coffee pockets across Santa Fe alongside the Railyard, Lena Street, St. Francis and Pen Road, Luna and Cerrillos, and West Alameda. Its level 2 room on the Plaza with entrances off San Francisco and Water Streets sits at the center of the city's busiest block.

How can Hillcane help a Plaza area cafe like this get found?

Hillcane builds clear, address specific pages that state exactly how visitors reach a location, including details such as a Suite 201 room on level 2, a patio overlooking Water Street, or a second door at 113 East Water Street. For a Plaza arcade cafe, that means one page giving the building, the level, and both streets in a single line. Reach out at hillcane.co/contact or call (256) 384-2449 to talk through your Plaza location.

Work with Hillcane

35 North Coffee sits on level 2 of the Shops at Santa Fe Plaza, with one entrance off San Francisco Street and a second off Water Street, so a visitor coming from either side of the Plaza can walk straight in.

If your Santa Fe cafe has a location worth describing this precisely, reach Hillcane at hillcane.co/contact or call (256) 384-2449.