Union Cowork Encinitas: Boutique Coworking a Block from the Beach

Last updated August 09, 2026

A block from the Pacific Ocean, on C Street in downtown Encinitas, Union Cowork runs a shared office space that has built a reputation less on square footage and more on the kind of community that forms when people actually know each other's names. The space at 111 C St, Encinitas, CA 92024 sits within easy walking distance of the beach and a stretch of coffee shops and lunch spots, giving members a workday geography that most office parks can't touch.

Union Cowork is not trying to be WeWork. The company is explicit about that. Its model favors smaller, boutique-style locations where the membership stays tight enough that relationships form naturally, and where a single skilled community manager can know every person who walks through the door. The Encinitas location fits that template well, drawing freelancers, small businesses, and remote workers who want a professional environment without a long commute from the neighborhoods where they live.

The space operates under a coworking model, offering flexible desk access and private office options alongside a coffee-shop-style membership tier for members who need a professional address and reliable Wi-Fi more than a dedicated desk. It's a practical setup for a coastal community where a lot of people have chosen to live close to the water and work close to home.

History and Founding Story of Union Cowork

Union Cowork was founded by Jamie Miller, whose path to the shared-office industry runs through a family history in community development. Miller grew up partly in Alaska, partly in Canada, and spent summers in the United States. His grandfather developed and managed communities in some of the toughest neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., and that experience, along with the influence of his mother, shaped how Miller thought about space, belonging, and what a workplace could be.

Miller's own experience working from coffee shops, the informal coworking option that existed before the industry had a name, pushed him toward building something more intentional. The result was Union Cowork, a network of neighborhood-centric shared offices designed to serve the communities immediately around them rather than pulling workers from across a metro area.

The company has grown to five locations, four in San Diego County and one in Los Angeles, with three additional sites in the planning stages and a long-term goal of reaching 50 locations. The Encinitas space has been part of that network long enough that at least one member company, Blue Sky Mediation Center, has called it home for over four years.

Union Cowork Services and Membership Options

Union Cowork Encinitas offers several membership tiers designed to fit different working styles and budgets. The entry point is a coffee-shop monthly membership at $50, which gives members access to the space without a reserved desk. From there, memberships scale up to full-time dedicated options.

For students, active military, veterans, and retirees, the monthly rate drops to $200, a pricing decision that reflects a deliberate choice to keep the space accessible beyond the typical freelancer-and-startup demographic. The facility itself includes a small kitchen, lockers, and an assortment of desk configurations. Members have noted the space stays quiet enough for focused work, which is not a given in open-plan offices.

Key membership features include:

• Coffee-shop monthly membership starting at $50
• Discounted membership at $200 per month for students, active military, veterans, and retirees
• Dedicated desk and private office options for full-time members
• On-site kitchen and locker storage
• High-speed internet access
• A walkable, bikeable location close to the beach and local dining

What separates Union Cowork from larger coworking operators is the deliberate choice to stay small. The company's own framing is that a typical Union Cowork space is smaller than what you'd find at a shared-office developer like WeWork or Regus. That size constraint is a feature, not a limitation. It keeps the membership from becoming anonymous.

Team and Leadership at Union Cowork Encinitas

The day-to-day experience at Union Cowork Encinitas is shaped largely by the community manager on site. At the Encinitas location, that person is MyTam, and her name comes up repeatedly in member feedback as the reason the space works as well as it does.

• MyTam, Community Manager, Encinitas: Organizes community events, manages the logistics of the space, and has been credited by members with creating an environment that feels as much like a community as a workplace. One member described her as someone who makes the space great for work and for connection.
• Jamie Miller, Founder: Oversees the broader Union Cowork network and has guided the company from a single location to five across California, with further expansion planned.

The community manager model is central to how Union Cowork operates. Rather than staffing locations with large administrative teams, each space runs with a single manager whose job is explicitly about people, not just operations. That structure keeps overhead low and, when the right person is in the role, produces the kind of environment members stay in for years.

Milestones and Track Record

• Union Cowork has grown to five locations across California, including four in the San Diego area and one in Los Angeles.
• Three additional locations are in the planning stages, with a stated long-term goal of 50 community-centered coworking sites.
• At least one member business, Blue Sky Mediation Center, has maintained continuous membership at the Encinitas location for over four years.
• Founder Jamie Miller's story and approach to community-centered coworking has been featured in local media coverage of the company.

What Customers Say About Union Cowork Encinitas

Member feedback about the Encinitas location clusters around two things: the physical setting and the people who manage it. The location's proximity to the beach and to a dense stretch of restaurants and coffee options gets mentioned alongside the quality of the space itself, but it's the community atmosphere that members return to most often.

This is by far the best shared office space that I have ever used. Not only are the other clients really chill the office manager makes everything seamless.

- Patrick Oates

MyTam, the on-site community manager, draws consistent praise for how she runs the space. Members describe her as attentive, organized, and genuinely invested in the people who work there, not just the logistics of keeping the office running.

The location is incredible, but also the onsite manager MyTam is a 10/10! You get a great work environment, a block walk to the beach, and all the lunch/coffee spots you could imagine.

Long-term members speak to the continuity of the experience. Robert Mougin, whose company Blue Sky Mediation Center has been based at Union Cowork for more than four years, describes the support as consistent from the very beginning.

Union Cowork has been home to my company, Blue Sky Mediation Center, for over four years now, and the support that I have received from day one has been nothing short of incredible!

- Robert Mougin

The physical space also earns marks on its own. Members note that it's clean, well-organized, and quiet enough for focused work, with a small kitchen, locker storage, and enough desk variety to suit different working styles.

Location and Community in Encinitas, CA

The Encinitas location sits at 111 C St, Encinitas, CA 92024, in a part of town that puts members within a short walk of the beach and a full range of places to eat and get coffee. That geography is not incidental to the Union Cowork model. The company specifically positions its spaces as walkable and bikeable options for people who want to live near where they work, and Encinitas fits that brief well.

Encinitas has long attracted a mix of surfers, creatives, small-business owners, and remote workers who prioritize quality of life alongside professional output. It's a community where the idea of a neighborhood-scale coworking space makes intuitive sense, and where a well-run boutique office can hold its own against the pull of working from home or a coffee shop.

The broader Encinitas real estate market reflects the area's desirability. Home prices in the region have appreciated at roughly 8.5 percent annually over the historical trend, though projections for the coming years moderate to around 4.2 percent annually. For the professionals and business owners who make up Union Cowork's membership, having a dedicated workspace close to home is a practical complement to the lifestyle that drew them to the area in the first place.

Why Choose Union Cowork in Encinitas

Union Cowork's Encinitas location offers something that larger coworking chains rarely deliver: a space small enough that members actually know each other, managed by someone who treats community-building as part of the job description. The pricing structure, which includes accessible options for students and military members, and the tiered membership model give it flexibility that suits a wide range of working situations.

For anyone based in or around Encinitas who needs a professional workspace without a long commute or a corporate lease, 111 C St is worth a look. The beach is a block away, the lunch options are plentiful, and the people running the space have been doing it long enough to know what actually makes a coworking environment work.

Customer quotes shown above are from public Google reviews.