by Ryan P. Ives

The ownership of Diesel Café in Davis Square resigned a five-year lease with a five-year option to extend July 16, settling an ongoing rent dispute with a large business chain.

“My initial reaction is relief. I’m very excited for what it’s going to do for the square to have us here for the next five years,” said Jennifer A. Park, who co-owns the Diesel Café with Tucker Lewis.

“It’s the story that you hear a lot and part of me didn’t want to be the typical end of the story. It’s a big business with big pockets that creates a bidding war with a local business,” she said.

Park said the negotiations process was difficult at times. “There were times when I thought there is no way was can do this. They have so many resources and people working on it, and it’s just me and Tucker.”

The bidding war, which lasted for more than six months, became more public July 6 when Diesel raised prices and posted an open letter to customers in the café.

“We started off with a five-year lease with a five-year option to extend in January of 2004. What’s been going on since then has been going back and forth between the landlord and us,” said Park.

Paul R. Errico, a representative of Shawmut Reality Trust, the company that manages the property said, “The Diesel Café has been a positive for the square. They’ve brought a lot of people in it’s been very popular. I’m just happy they are staying and they can continue their tradition.”

Diesel has felt pressure from big business in the past, but the results were not predictable. “Starbucks opened across the street from us six months after we opened, and we were sure that would ruin us. But I think it’s really just brought more people to the square. The fact that so many large coffee shops are able to do business in the square says a lot about the community. It’s a big hub for students and artists,” said Park.

Laura L. Yim, a Ph.D. candidate at Brandeis, has lived close to Davis Square since 1992 and been a regular at the Diesel since it opened in 1999. “My general feeling is that Diesel is like a neighbor. There are so many regulars here that this is where I come do my work, but also to see who is in my neighborhood. I think it fits with Somerville’s goal of not being a commuter community. Diesel is one of the private spaces that serves a public purpose,” said Yim.

Park said that city officials have supported the café over the last five years.

“We’ve developed relationships with our alderman and the mayor. He [Curtatone] was very supportive of us when he was an alderman and we were first coming up against the city five-and-a-half years ago. He came and said he wanted businesses like ours in Davis Square.” Upon hearing that the Diesel would remain in Davis Square Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone said, “I am pleased this has been resolved and that a local institution will remain in Davis Square. Diesel and a few other local businesses have become the heart and soul of the Davis Square renaissance.”

Diesel will soon offer an expanded breakfast and lunch menu, and Park said more changes are in store. “What we started off with five years ago may not be what we can do for the next five,” said Park.
After five-and-a-half years, Park said she still feels strongly about the importance of Diesel to the community. “We’ve employed over 100 people during the time that we’ve been here, and the relationships that have formed are really important. I feel optimistic—it’s hard not to feel optimistic when you have a lot of support from customers and our staff,” she said.

“That they think we can do it is really touching, it makes it even more important for us to succeed. There may be a time in the future when we feel its time to move on, but it definitely doesn’t feel like now.”