Francois and Fatuma Tuyishime celebrate the opening of the first Yego Coffee location.

By Ryan DiLello

A new shop in Teele Square, Yego Coffee, opened its doors for the first time last week.

For the co-owning couple, Francois and Fatuma Tuyishime, things are off to a strong start. “A lot of people came on the first Saturday. It was almost overwhelming,” Francois Tuyisheme said, gesturing that the line started out the door. “And it never stopped.”

The shop at 1212 Broadway is refreshingly unassuming – and clearly about the coffee. Opposite the bar, behind a cafe-style window, is an overflowing pile of Rwandan coffee beans. Soft light pours over the heap, through the large windows at the front of the shop. The beaming white walls are decorated with prints of coffee farms and beans. It’s a good place to work.

During my visit, multiple customers turned to thank Francois and Fatuma before leaving. The place has a positive and bright spirit, which I learned actually lives up to its name, “Yego.” Translating to “yes,” English doesn’t totally capture the connotation in kinyarwanda.

“It’s a sign of positivity and affirmation,” Francois clarified. “In Rwanda, after the genocide of 1994 against the Tutsi, we lost so many people. The only thing that kept us alive was positivity. It means a lot in our community.”

Born into a coffee farmer family in Southwestern Rwanda, Francois Tuyisheme has an enthusiasm for the bean, and for politics. He graduated from the National University of Rwanda with a bachelor’s degree in political science and holds a masters in conflict resolution from Brandeis University.

“But I wasn’t ready for politics,” Tuyisheme told me with a smile. “I was running away from coffee, but I could feel it pulling me.”

In the years that followed his academic studies, Francois began attending coffee conventions and became a professionally certified roaster. Soon, Tuyisheme was roasting coffee for a business in Framingham, Massachusetts, where he now roasts his own beans.

“I started my brand online and started doing farmers markets,” Tuyisheme said. “From there, I got to see where I could take my business to the next level.” Tuyishime signed onto the present location in June of 2022.

Tuyishime said he will bring academics back into his life by holding events that educate people about coffee. “How it’s grown, picked, processed, roasted and more,” Tuyishime said. Of the location on 1212 Broadway, Tuyishime said, “Yes, it’s a way of marketing the product, but it’s also a way of living with people around you.”