the aqus story
From a welcoming cafe in Petaluma
to a non-profit building social capital in Sonoma County
Aqus Community began in Petaluma in the early 2000s, when Irish-born founder John Crowley organized themed Pub Crawls that made it easy for strangers to connect. This intentional approach to bringing people together remains central to Aqus Community’s work.
In 2006, John opened Aqus Café at Foundry Wharf as a welcoming “third space” where locals could gather and build relationships. It became home to language dinners, knitting circles, music jams, and many other community groups.
Over the following years, Crowley launched several community-wide events, moving outside the physical space of the café: the Petaluma Palooza Community Expo, Professional Mixers, Petaluma Conversations, Partner Juggling, to name just a few.
In 2015, John and his wife, Diane, established Aqus Community as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to building social capital. Today, it helps lead a growing movement to strengthen connection, belonging, and civic life—one relationship at a time.
In 2026, John convened a Steering Committee and launched a year-long project called Aqus Community 2.0 to build a sustainable infrastructure for the non-profit.
A few of the 2026 achievements:
“We’re not building bureaucracy. We’re building capacity.”— Aqus Steering Committee
What’s ahead?
A stronger foundation for greater impact
Our Vision
We envision social and civic health as the foundation of an inclusive, engaged society, where no one is isolated and communities flourish through connection, trust, empathy, and mutual respect.
Keep it going. This digital age proves we need face-to-face
more than ever.” — Mathew