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. …
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 …
Coming of Age at Diesel In 2002, I moved to Boston (nearly sight unseen) with two friends from college (College of William and Mary in Virginia). We had no idea how to exist in the world, but found Diesel as a haven. Me (a fledgling gay man) and another roommate (a queer woman) spent hours …
Return to Oz I once had a Couchsurfer named Candy Royalle. We connected immediately over our partly shaved heads and over poetry. She was going to stay 3 days and she ended up staying a couple of weeks. On her way out of Boston, and back to Australia, she asked where she might stop for …
My Deep, Queer, Freak Face “I work at Diesel”, I was always proud to say. As well as, of course, “No, not the clothing company.” “We are more – queer as in fuck you and less gay as in designer jeans”, I’d tell people in the era of my life that orbited Diesel Cafe. …
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 …
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 …
Great Friendships Forged (Get it?) i met my best friend because of diesel cafe. despite the fact that we both had gone to the same university, hung around the same kind of academic circles and friend groups, and had a lot of the same interests, we didn’t formally meet until we were both working behind …
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 