Davis Square is new Somerville. Old blue-collar joints like Sligo Pub and McKinnon’s Meats intermingle with the likes of JP Licks and Jonny D's. There’s Joshua Tree for the Tufts frat-boy crowd. Starbucks for the laptop crew. Someday café for grungy PhD candidates. And for the caffeine-starved hipster—and new Somerville has plenty—there’s Diesel: a haven for bohemians, punks, nerds, and whoever you want to be that day. Good coffee? Of course, they have it. But that’s not the point.

In May 1999, Davis Square welcomed Diesel Café, the trendy, upbeat coffee shop that satisfies the caffeine crave. Diesel premium drinks like the solid six (six shots of espresso) or the kick start (large coffee with two shots of espresso) will undeniably keep you on your toes.

A good “cup of joe” is only half of what Diesel Cafe serves. In addition to their energetic drinks, Diesel Cafe offers food to satisfy the need, an atmosphere that is sure to please and one of a kind service. This May marks the seventh anniversary of Diesel Cafe, where you’re bound to be treated like one of their own as soon as you walk through the door.

“There is such a good cross section of people who come here, so we have a lot of variety to meet all needs,” says Tucker Lewis, 36, one of two proprietors of the cafe.

Diesel Cafe does not cater to any specific group or kind of people, and because of that, there is something for everyone at Diesel Cafe.

Although many of us talk about putting an idea into effect, seldom do we ever follow through with it. For Tucker Lewis and Jen Park, affectionately known as Parky, their idea came to life.

The idea of Diesel Cafe developed while Tucker and Jen were working at Toscanini’s Ice Cream in Central Square. Working and managing an ice cream shop, the duo thought, “We can handle this.” They threw the idea in the air about opening their own place and began pursuing it.

“It was one of those things we joked about, but it all came together when the name Diesel was thrown out by a friend of ours,” Lewis says. “It was at that moment that we realized it was more serious.”

Talking over breakfast one morning, Tucker and Jen found themselves discussing life. As their waitress came around to offer coffee refills, one of their friends uttered, “coffee…like fuel, like diesel.” Those five words stuck with the duo and soon after, Diesel Cafe evolved.

Tucker and Jen worked on plans for three years before Diesel Cafe officially opened in 1999. Although they thought they were in over their heads in the beginning, plans started to fall into place and Diesel Cafe became a success.

“We came up with the idea of a coffee shop because at the time, Boston was absent of a unique cafe,” says Lewis, who had never even had a cup of coffee by the time the cafe opened. “We thought there was a need for a one-of-a-kind coffee shop, so we started planning.”

The hardest stumbling block for the owners was the process of locating a place. Before 257 Elm Street was home to Diesel Cafe, it was home to an optical factory, but the permitting process itself was nearly impossible according to Lewis. They spent nearly one year “jumping through hoops,” since the location had to be re-zoned by the city.

Additionally, the city didn’t initially approve of Diesel Cafe and questioned how long it would last, says Lewis. Little did they know that Diesel Cafe was a diamond in the rough. Now, nearly seven years later, Diesel Cafe is a landmark in the Davis Square community.

“I managed an ice cream shop, but it is much different when you actually own a place. It is so much bigger when you’re actually doing it yourself,” Lewis says

The design of Diesel Cafe was dictated by the amount of money left over once all expenses had gone underway. “It was basically a default design because in the beginning we didn’t have extra money to spend,” Lewis says. “A lot of the things in Diesel Cafe were made by us since we didn’t have any extra money, but the design inadvertently adds to the home style feel because it is homemade.”

When Tucker was younger, she never thought about where she would be in 10 years. She studied photography during her undergraduate studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, but opening a coffee shop didn’t surprise her. “I live for the moment,” she says. “Owning Diesel Cafe is the best job that I suspect I will ever have. It is a lot of work but it pays off.”

Diesel Cafe was founded with the hope of creating an atmosphere that would be pleasing to customers and employees. Now, walking into Diesel Cafe on any given day, you will find nearly every seat occupied. The goal was to provide a family-friendly feel to the place and Tucker and Jen have successfully accomplished that.

“I really enjoy working with people and I like the energy in front and behind the counter,” Lewis says.

04/05/2006   |   Permalink