Marriage Meetings For fourteen years — 2002 through 2016 – I was appointed as a Justice of the Peace for the City of Somerville and over those years officiated just over 400 weddings. I was lucky enough to have been a JP in those particularly joyous days when same sex marriage was approved in Massachusetts. …
Stories With Data When I first walked into Diesel in 2006, y’all had already been going strong for years. When I moved to Somerville full-time in 2008, it became a refuge and has stayed one ever since, through life changes I couldn’t have even begun to imagine 12 or 13 years ago. I like telling …
I Would Walk With My People If I Could Find Them I’d like to say working at Diesel Cafe was my first real job out of college. That makes a tidier story. But it was actually my second. After undergrad, I’d just got out of a serious relationship (that neither of us really wanted to …
My Heart Onto the Page When my partner, Mary, and I moved to Davis Square in 2012, we had no idea how lucky we were to have a neighbor like you. From the first moment we walked in and saw your beautiful staff and felt your inclusive vibe, you became our go-to spot for coffee …
Fuel Diesel Cafe turns 20 in May. In September, my career in coffee will also turn that big 2-0. Being a fan of dates and anniversaries, holidays and the such, this isn’t really much of a revelation or surprise for me. It’s been on the brain for quite a while now, especially the past year. …
Self-Love self-love noun \ ˌself-ˈləv \ Definition of self-love : love of self: such as a : an appreciation of one’s own worth or virtue Everything typed above this line was copy and pasted from Merriam-Webster, the definition of self-love I mean. I would correctly cite it if I could. I think that’s a skill …
More Than Just One Story I don’t really know where to begin for my diesel love story. I guess it’s because it’s way more than just one story. There’s a Diesel love story for Diesel as an employer. I never imagined I would work there and start living one of those queer lives I used …
Really Big Important Things I started working at Diesel in the Spring of 2013. I had packed one suitcase and taken a train from Rochester to Boston, one way. I had recently broken up with my boyfriend in NY, and what had at first been amicable turned violent. I was left broken, scared, lost and …
Changed Forever Diesel will always be a huge part of my life. It was there that I met the love of my life. I was new to the online dating world and decided a coffee shop was a safe place to meet someone online. It was April 16, 2011 that I would walk into Diesel …
My Life is a Diesel Love Story Writing my wedding vows was easier than writing my Diesel Love story. Vows are just for one person. But this, writing about MY DIESEL LOVE STORY, is just so big and so vast and so so so incredibly deep. There is not a place I turn in my life that the four walls …
20 Miles on 95 Diesel was the salve to my young, closeted, queer heart stuck in suburbia in the late 90s. It was the place where I escaped on long nights during high school summers, driving 20 miles on 95 just to be surrounded by coffee and queers. Diesel was there when I was on …
An Ode to the Diesel Bathrooms Your door, always ajar Beckoning me into your fluorescent fold Mirror reflecting the purple hue of an obsidian space I take out my phone, snap a picture, capturing a moment When my bone structure looks great, but also I felt held You’ve been there in times of need When …
Diesel Was My First Home I have always had a deep fondness for cafes because at their root they exist to cultivate community. In 2007, I had just graduated from college in upstate NY, was moving to Boston where my sister lived, and looking to work at a cafe. When visiting my sister in Boston, …
Mochas Were My Gateway Drug My Diesel love story starts with an important fact: I didn’t drink coffee before I entered Diesel’s doors in 2010. I only got mochas made of mostly milk for the first five years I was a customer, when I opened an office for my health coaching practice across the street …
Diesel has piece of my heart…. after moving cross country to Boston I quickly learned about Diesel Cafe. I would spend hours there working on lesson plans, playing pool with coworkers and crushing on the adorable staff. The summer before starting graduate school I finally built up the courage to apply to work at Diesel. …
Safe Spaces Away From Home Diesel’s gay-friendly atmosphere made it safe for me to accept my own sexuality and come out as queer person. I had my first ever date with a woman at Diesel and now my girlfriend and I go there often. I always knew it would be safe and I would not …
Diesel Kids 1999 – 2003 I am forever thankful for Diesel. Being one of only a handful of openly gay teens at Somerville High School from 1999-2003 was not easy. Having a place to go and escape where we could be ourselves and be accepted saved us. It was our second home. Pretty much every …
I Met My Partner at Diesel. I love Diesel. I’ve loved Diesel since I was in High School (in New York) and would come to Boston to visit my girlfriend. We spent many nights hanging at Diesel. I’ve lived in Somerville for almost 10 years now, and spent many mornings, afternoons, and evenings hanging out …
Diesel Is My Family As I sat down to write this love letter to Diesel, I became overwhelmed with sentiment. Though, short and sweet, it’s all pretty simple: Diesel is my family. I took a job there back in my mid-20s, thinking it would be a fun place to work with some cool queer kids …
Diesel Love Stories 