Two Oakland residents making free puzzle zines have been distributing them at neighborhood cafes, finding a receptive stop at Hasta Muerte Coffee on Fruitvale Ave — and asking r/oakland where else would fit.

At 2701 Fruitvale Ave in Oakland, two locals have been making free puzzle zines and handing them out at cafes. One receptive stop they've found: Hasta Muerte Coffee, the worker-owned cooperative on the Fruitvale strip, which keeps an in-house bookstore stocked with zines and books organized around Latinx histories and community organizing. "I frequent Hasta Muerte and they love them," wrote u/EntreEden in a recent post to r/oakland. The question they put to their neighbors was practical — where else might want them?

"Maybe a place with that kind of vibe," they wrote. "Or maybe a collective or studio that would like free zines." The post drew 41 upvotes and 42 comments.

There is no directory for this. Which counters would say yes to an outside zine is social knowledge, passed between regulars.

Hasta Muerte fits the post's benchmark because it was built to. The cooperative was founded by Latinx organizers, including Matt Gereghty and Loren Yglecias, who designed a curated bookstore into its center. "A small bookstore within the cafe is curated with an eye toward decolonizing struggles," the East Bay Express reported. The space hosts film screenings, workshops, and art shows; the founders also have ties to Alchemy Collective Café in Berkeley. In 2018, the Oakland Community Land Trust purchased the building at 2701–2703 Fruitvale Ave to secure the cooperative's tenancy along with two residential tenants — a move that anchored the space and the bookstore inside it in place.

"We want to add fuel to the flame of resilience and resistance," Gereghty told the East Bay Express.

What the thread points to is something most Oakland regulars already carry: a working map of which businesses are the kind of place that would say yes to a free zine on a counter. That map runs heavily through the city's worker-owned, collectively-held, and community-organized spaces. Hasta Muerte is one node. The puzzle makers are looking for the others. Whether the 42 comments turned up something useful is a separate question; the ask found the right corner.