Crockett is a small town with an oversized pull. Its intriguing history threads through the cross-Pacific sugar trade, perilous smelting of precious metals, and strange crimes involving an “Ocean’s Eleven”-style gold heist and intricate networks of underground tunnels.
Filling up the caffeine reserves will be Priority No. 1 for many folks. In town, the new Calaca Coffee pours strong java with a Mexican twist. Try a cafe de olla cold brew with cinnamon and piloncillo (raw sugar) or a Xoco latte with cacao and espresso—and if you’re feeling naughty, top it off with banana or tres leches cream.
Glommed onto an old church like a retro barnacle, Revival Coffee is a trailer-based operation sporting a bohemian open-air porch with comfy furniture and board games. “Liquid pie” is a good way to describe the coffee. There’s a Cherry Jubilee with white chocolate, a Coconut Cream Pie Latte, and a Huckleberry Mocha, giving customers the chance to slyly comment to their significant other, “No, you’re my huckleberry.” The fruit-forward drinks seem cast down from the berry-rich fields of Oregon, and for a breakfast snack there’s biscuits and gravy.
The sweet offerings around town seem appropriate given its raison d’être for a long while was sugar. The California and Hawaiian (C&H) Sugar Refining Company celebrates its 120th year in Crockett—whose nickname is “Sugar City”—in 2026. While C&H recently stopped importing from Hawaii, it’s still a major player in the market, producing 14 percent of the cane sugar in the United States. In local vintage shops you’ll find its logo emblazoned on Hawaiian shirts, also in timeworn cookbooks with recipes like Hawaiian coconut pudding and frosted grapes on pine boughs.
That’s probably not true—the “soberly” part, as Crockett is a historical hotbed of drinking. Among the 45-plus bars that hung their flag in this tiny community during the last century were Chuck & Henry, Dick & Johnny, Toots and Gully, and the by-comparison lonely-sounding Ray’s Corner, which poured booze for 103 years until closing in 2004.
There’s fun history to be gleaned here about the old Selby smelting works, once the largest refining company in the West for gold, silver, and lead. It was bulldozed in the 1970s, but locals keep it alive by sharing memories on the public Crockett history Facebook page. “When you woke up there was always a layer of gray dust on the porches,” recalls one person. Laments another: “(M)y great grandfather fell into a smelting pot I believe never made it home soo sad.”
A nice way to burn off some calories is to explore Crockett Hills Regional Park. From the staging area, the Crockett Ranch Trail leads up a beautifully forested path to a long tunnel under the Cummings Skyway. Pass through this dark orifice, and you’ll emerge on the other side of the hill with blazing sun and a panoramic visage of the San Francisco Bay that can only be called stunning. The random cow that sometimes grazes here might agree with an appreciative bellow.
Cocktail hour approaches, and beckoning hard is surf-and-turf institution The Dead Fish. Named after the owner’s nonna—she couldn’t always recall the species of sea creatures she cooked, so she called everything “dead fish”—the restaurant offers roasted Dungeness crab and Omaha prime rib in a kitsch-filled compound on the cliff. The views of huge ships passing through the Strait are unbeatable, as are the “Drink-Like-a-Fish” cocktails for only $10. A Crabby Mood Martini or Bloody Shark served in a chilled wine glass? Delightful!
Many of Crockett’s hidden charms reveal themselves to those wandering with no real purpose. The Epperson Gallery is a spacious showcase for California landscapes and quirky animal sculptures. The Cat Vintage offers antiques and clothing and plans to open a Cat Museum this summer, full of priceless artifacts—to cat lovers, anyway—like feline dolls, trinkets, shirts, staplers, and more Garfields than you can shake a pan of lasagna at. Ask nicely, and the owner might pull back the curtain on the in-progress museum.
Lucia’s Craft Sandwich closes in the afternoon, but if you were fortunate enough to pick something up, they’re sizable enough for dinner. It’s no exaggeration to say Lucia’s is one of the best sandwich shops in the Bay, focused on local produce and top-quality meats. The mortadella with artichokes and fresh ricotta dances between delicate and decadent, and the specials are always worth consideration: a porchetta with orange and fennel-pollen salad, say, or a croque madame with Mornay sauce, squash blossoms, and runny egg.
Crockett may have had dozens of bars in its history, but today it’s down to a handful, a great one being Toot’s Tavern. Said to be the longest continuously operating bar in Contra Costa County, the wood-shrouded watering hole switches from sleepy neighborhood hangout in the afternoon to high-energy music joint at night. Patrons might stumble upon a thrash-metal band, a Van Halen tribute, an electro DJ, or a 17-piece jazz ensemble—here, anything’s possible.
There’s also rumored to be a tunnel in Toot’s basement that smugglers used during Prohibition to get resupplies from the waterfront. Some locals say it’s a myth, but the resident bartender swears it’s true.
“All of Crockett has tunnels under it,” he said on a recent visit. “There were tons of bars during Prohibition and you can see the holes open up by the water. Most are bricked over, and I wouldn’t recommend seeking them out. Yeah, it’s kind of a weird old town.”
