Today we’d like to introduce you to Brian And Lauren Cat Alley Street.
Hi Brian and Lauren , so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
The concept for Cat Alley Street began with our theme camp at unSCruz called Snarklefarker’s Nightclub. UnSCruz is the annual Santa Cruz regional Burning Man event, built around community, creativity, radical self-expression, and participation. Snarklefarker’s was created as a roaring 20’s-inspired, swanky vampire nightclub — equal parts elegant, high-energy, and welcoming. The space combined a packed EDM-fueled dance hall with a lounge designed for conversation, connection, and late-night wandering.
Burning Man culture had a huge influence on what we built. At its core is decommodification — once you’re onsite, nothing is sold. Everything is shared as a gift. That environment creates a very different kind of interaction between people. Combined with values like radical inclusion and self-expression, it fosters a sense of community that feels increasingly rare in everyday life. We wanted Cat Alley Street to feel like a place where anyone could show up, be themselves, dress however they wanted, and feel completely accepted. Our goal was to carry over as many of these values as possible but into a business model that would prove to be sustainable.
After several hugely successful years at unSCruz, people kept asking the same question: “Why isn’t this a real place?”
That question pushed us to seriously consider whether the concept could exist beyond the event itself. As we looked around Santa Cruz, we recognized a gap in the local nightlife scene. There were places to grab drinks and places to hear music, but very few spaces that combined strong aesthetics, quality sound, dancing, and a genuinely immersive atmosphere. We felt there was room for something more intentional — a space where people could dress up, go out with friends, dance for hours, or simply exist in an environment that felt inspiring and different from the ordinary.
That realization started the journey of turning Snarklefarker’s from a temporary theme camp into a real-world business.
As we researched possible locations, one place immediately stood out: The Catalyst. The Catalyst has a deep cultural history in Santa Cruz and has played an important role in the city’s live music scene for decades. Despite its legacy, parts of the space had fallen into disrepair and felt underutilized. But underneath that, we saw enormous potential — not just to build a bar or nightclub, but to create something atmospheric, community-driven, and creatively ambitious while honoring the history of the venue itself.
To date, the feedback we hear most often is that the atmosphere feels beautiful, safe, and genuinely welcoming. People consistently comment on the quality of the music, the sound system, and the overall experience of the space. As we continue to grow, we’re actively working toward expanding our offerings through more live music, food service, and additional operating hours. At its heart, Cat Alley Street has always been about creating connection, creativity, and community through immersive experiences. Our intention is simple: to keep creating as much beauty, energy, and belonging as we can for as long as the timeline allows — wherever the journey takes us next..
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. In many ways, we stepped into a project that was far more challenging than we initially realized. The building itself is nearly 100 years old, and with that comes significant infrastructure issues. Years of deferred maintenance and a lack of meaningful capital reinvestment by previous ownership left many systems in failing condition, so a huge amount of our time and energy has gone into simply making the space functional, safe, and beautiful again.
At the same time, we’ve been operating under the reality that the property was purchased by a Silicon Valley real estate developer and is currently slated for demolition. That creates an unusual dynamic — trying to build something meaningful, creative, and community-centered while also facing uncertainty about the long-term future of the space itself.
There have been moments where the obstacles felt overwhelming: aging infrastructure, financial limitations, constant repairs, and the challenge of trying to revive a historic venue while navigating an uncertain timeline. But in a strange way, that has also become part of the spirit of Cat Alley Street. Instead of waiting for perfect conditions, we chose to create something beautiful in the middle of impermanence. We continue to adapt, evolve, and carve out our own path forward for as long as we can, while focusing on the experiences and community we’re building in the present moment.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Lauren is a business consultant and strategic operations leader with more than 25 years of experience across the healthcare and technology industries. Her work focuses on business strategy, operational improvement, change management, and building systems that help organizations function more effectively. She’s known for combining big-picture thinking with practical execution — taking complex ideas or struggling processes and turning them into clear, actionable solutions.
What sets her apart is her ability to bridge creativity and operations. Whether leading large organizational initiatives or helping build community-driven projects like Cat Alley Street, she brings a mix of strategic leadership, adaptability, and people-centered thinking. She’s especially passionate about creating environments — both in business and in culture — where people feel engaged, inspired, and connected.
Brian’s background is rooted in community-building, creativity, and immersive experiences shaped by Burning Man culture. In 2009, he co-founded unSCruz, the Santa Cruz regional Burning Man event, with the vision of bringing the creativity, participation, and sense of connection found at Burning Man into a local community setting. Over the following decade, unSCruz grew into a hugely successful event and cultural institution within the region. Equally important to him was ensuring the event could continue evolving beyond its original founders, and in 2019 he stepped away from production leadership after helping transition the event to a new generation of community stewards.
After the pandemic, Brian redirected his creative energy into building Snarklefarker’s — a theme camp designed around the kinds of spaces he personally loves: immersive, playful, aesthetically rich environments that encourage people to connect, dance, express themselves, and feel at home. One of his greatest strengths is envisioning and shaping environments that invite collaboration, allowing others to contribute their own creativity and energy into the experience.
He’s especially known for bringing people together, building strong creative teams, and fostering communities centered around participation and shared experience. He’s proud of what unSCruz has become, equally proud of the impact and popularity of Snarklefarker’s, and excited to now help bring those same feelings of connection, creativity, and belonging into a sustainable business adventure through Cat Alley Street.
The beauty of our partnership is that we each bring very different — but equally important — strengths to the table. At the same time, none of this exists because of just the two of us. Cat Alley Street, Snarklefarker’s, and the larger community surrounding them have all been built through the contributions of countless friends, artists, performers, collaborators, and loved ones. Daniel Gross has been a key part of both Snarklefarker’s and Cat Alley Street since the very beginning, and his contributions have been invaluable to the growth and evolution of both projects. From hands-on problem solving and building infrastructure to helping bring creative ideas to life, Daniel has played an essential role in shaping the spaces and experiences we’ve created. He is also pictured alongside us in the attached business photo. There are far too many people to name individually, but the spirit of community, generosity, and shared creativity is truly what makes all of this possible.
Pricing:
- Most evenings are free of charge (no cover)
- Happy Hour drink prices 6-8pm daily
- Affordably priced, quality food
Contact Info:
- Website: https://catalleystreet.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catalleystreet/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61581647641539
