A Good Luck Charm It was more than 20 years ago that I walked into my architectural firm in Davis Square to find Jen and Tucker in our conference room talking to Anne Daw. I was in a suit and tie, having come from a meeting with clients at the Bank of Boston. Everyone there …
Certain Something Special Had Begun May 28, 1999, the day before diesel first opened its doors was my 23rd birthday. I spent it helping to tackle the endless to-do list Tucker had carefully written out on a massive sheet of butcher paper. As I tightened bolts on the small round tables and arranged cups in …
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. …
Felicia’s Amazing Diesel Inspired Art
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. …
Pure Gratitude I’ve written so many editions of this love story, since I seem to have so many love stories to share. But the overarching similarity between them all is pure gratitude. I moved to Boston fresh out of college, and like so many who wandered through, I had no idea what I wanted to …
Enjoying Life. My first memory of Diesel is carrying my newborn daughter in a baby bjorn, facing outwards, to see the new coffee shop that had opened days earlier. It was apparently on a tragic mission to survive across the street from Starbucks, and for that alone it had my respect. My daughter had been …
Group of Weirdos Hello Diesel and happy 20th birthday! I vividly remember when Diesel opened when I was a teenager and friends going to check it out on the weekends. I thought what is this place? I eventually became a customer, had a art show there then a few years later became a employee. To …
So Many Friends and Loves
Slinging Lattes and Monkey Wrenches Just before falling head over heals in love with the love of my life, I was lucky enough to be part of the Diesel family. Slinging lattes and monkey wrenches along side some really lovely people made me feel at home in a new land. To this day, I consider Diesel to be …
Livin’ La Vida Loca Diesel, when it first opened, was the enemy. I was in the Someday Cafe camp. You probably don’t remember, but Someday Cafe was a grungy cafe in the current location of the creperie with a very, um, lived-in vibe. The menu was Star-Trek themed. Seating consisted of uncomfortable plastic chairs in …
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 …
So, So Happy EDITOR’S NOTE: All 4 members of the Branch-Tomsho family wrote Diesel Love Stories. Read them all!
Entrepreneurial Misfits In the summer of 2005, I moved to Medford, MA with my college roommate, Steve, after convincing him to start a startup with me. That company ended up being Reddit and over the next year and a half we toiled away on it. None of the apartments we rented had A/C, so I’d …
Want to Get Some Coffee Sometime? 15 years ago I was working at Diesel Cafe and had noticed this cutie who would come in to the cafe some times. One night they came in and all night I tried to get the courage to ask them out. When they left the cafe before I made …
Sounds of Our Daily Life I was a 23 year-old queer kid moving from rural North Carolina to Boston when I first stepped foot in Diesel just 2 weeks after the café opened. Little did I know that Diesel would be providing more than a much needed break from a frustrating apartment search. Like for …
A Magical, Percussive Dance Dear Diesel, It’s hard to overstate the importance this place has had in my life. There isn’t a whole lot that you weren’t a part of in some way or another. I started working at Diesel during my last year of college when I was 23. I worked for about six …
Love From A Distance My best friend and I grew up in Niagara Falls, NY. While I have stayed in the greater Buffalo area, just after college, John made the Boston area his home. He found his amazing soulmate there, they settled in Somerville near Davis Square. As we visited, we watched the transformation of …
Perseverance My Diesel love story almost didn’t exist. Back in 2007 I was 21 years old and dreaming of opening my own café. Thing was that I had never worked in one and didn’t know the first thing about it (or even if I really liked it), so I figured I’d better work in one …
Back For More… I’m one of the “back for more” employees! Worked there in 2000? 2001? Moved away and then when I moved back and went to grad school (with Russo!) worked there again around 2005-2006? Those shifts at Diesel were not only a needed antidote to the stress of thesis-writing and social work internships, …
Friendship Bracelets When I pretended to leave last spring, I thought that it was Diesel and my time committed to its service that contributed to my burnout—in actuality it was the very essence that was keeping me (and has kept me) spiritually alive through this MA experience— I don’t think it’s a secret that my …
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. …
Conspiracies and Mysteries Many conspiracies have been unraveled and mysteries solved over coffee at the Diesel.https://www.amazon.com/Enochs-Thread-John-Aubrey-ebook/dp/B01CN20CQE
The Place With the Motorcycle The first time I visited Diesel Cafe, I was a freshman at Emerson College. It was the fall of 2010, and I was only eighteen. I barely passed for an adult: “artsy” glasses, long sleeve shirt under a graphic tee, black skinny jeans. Still a hint of baby face. I …
Matchmaker First of all – Congrats on 20 years! I think you have done an amazing job creating a coffee spot for all. As, a coffee lover, I have introduced many a friend to your very fine establishment. My story is not really totally my story but my perspective of the situation is what makes me write …
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 …
Before a Melissa Ferrick Concert.. I first discovered Diesel Cafe in 2004 while meandering around Davis Square before a Melissa Ferrick concert. While I went to school in Boston, Diesel became my go-to coffee shop when I needed a place to write papers or hang out with friends. In 2011, I met my now wife …
Diesel Love Stories 