Restaurants

Shared staff, spin-off bakeries, and longtime friendships have created one of Greater Boston’s most interconnected coffee scenes.

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Before Vinal Bakery founder Sarah Murphy began expanding the conceivable English muffin universe at her Union Square shop in 2019, she perfected her approach to creating spread-sponging nooks and crannies during early morning shifts at Bagelsaurus in Cambridge — folding, fermenting, shaping, boiling, and baking — alongside a tight-knit crew.

“The baking team was quite small, so it was really just a group of friends,” Murphy said.

Early prototypes impressed Bagelsaurus owner Mary Ting Hyatt, who encouraged Murphy to sell her muffins pop-up style alongside the shop’s internet-famous staples.

“Mary was a great sounding board and was paying it forward because she came out of Cutty’s,” Murphy said, referencing the Brookline deli where Ting Hyatt got her start.

That kind of hand-off isn’t unusual within the Cambridge-Somerville cafe world. Over time, an unofficial culinary network has formed — a collection  of bakeries and cafes linked by staff, approach, and origin. 

Jennifer Park and Tucker Lewis, owners of Forge Baking Company, are central to that latticework. They operate four Cambridge-Somerville cafes, including Diesel Cafe in Davis Square, which they opened in 1999 with a big lease and self-financed kitchen equipment. 

Today, Diesel is a neighborhood institution with a tangible local following — and even a bit of Hollywood pull after a recent visit from Amy Poehler. Though, occupancy costs remain high.

Across Park and Lewis’ locations — Diesel, Bloc, and Forge — the defining notes are consistent: mellow espresso drinks, fresh sandwiches, fast-moving pastries, and relaxed vibes. Behind the scenes, centralized baking and a team of around 80, supported by floating trainers, keep the system moving.

“There’s healthy competition and also camaraderie,” Park said. “It’s a really small world.”

That ethos extends to their newest cafe, Page and Leaf, tucked inside Porter Square Books in Cambridge. The space replaces the bookseller’s previous food and beverage partner, Cafe Zing, while also reclaims a missed opportunity from 20 years ago, when the bookstore first approached Park and Lewis about opening a Diesel offshoot.

“It was something I wish we had done, so when the opportunity came around again, we had to do it,” Park said.

The reception has been warm, though some long-time customers still ask for Zing’s well-known Vietnamese fresh rolls. 

“This is our first location in Cambridge and it’s been nice to interact with different community members,” Park said.

Less than a mile away in Somerville, a newer layer of the same network is forming inside Razors Barbershop on Highland Avenue, where New Leaf Espresso opened in December 2025. An alleyway of cafe tables and wooden barrel seats lead to a kitty-corner espresso bar offering classic drinks, along with more creative options, like a clove-smoke latte with tobacco bitters and clove syrup.    

Co-owners Eoin Jaquith and Andrew DeBenedictis came up through 1369 Coffee House in Cambridge, where Jaquith once trained DeBenedictis on the bar.

“The thing I love about 1369 is that they’re really nuts about the quality of coffee,” Jaquith said.

When Razors put out a call for a cafe partner, the pair took the chance, hoping to cultivate a spot rooted in fundamentals with room for thoughtful experimentation. Their menu reflects that balance while revealing connections to the broader Cambridge-Somerville cafe and bakery scene, with pastries from Michette Bakery in East Somerville and doughnuts from Lionheart Confections,  a pop-up from local pastry chef Kate Holowchik.

Jaquith traces many of his peer relationships to labor organizing work with NEJB Local 325, which represents coffeeshop workers around Greater Boston. New Leaf itself operates as a cooperative.

“That’s how I’ve met tons and tons of baristas across the city and we’re all big gossips,” Jaquith said. “You end up meeting really cool people with great ideas.”

Such connections stretch back more than a decade at Katie Rooney’s Highland Avenue bakery and cafe, 3 Little Figs. When she and her husband, Andy Rooney, launched the shop, a high-end La Marzocco Strada espresso machine was still a rarity in the neighborhood — and quality baked goods were fewer and further between. (Her banana tahini muffins remain a standout.)

Rooney built her business after years of wholesaling baked goods around Boston, and like many in the scene, she continued developing relationships when she opened her brick-and-mortar shop.

“It’s pretty much folks who opened their doors around the same time I did,” Rooney said. “And there’s a group of us who also have children. Everyone has their own distinct style but there’s definitely been troubleshooting. You know, “Who’s your refrigeration person?” And in my case, I’ve definitely been inspired by what I’ve tasted at other places.”

One of those peers includes Bagelsaurus owner Mary Ting Hyatt, who in turn credits 3 Little Figs as an early inspiration.

“I remember going there and seeing her and her husband in this small space making it work,” Ting Hyatt said. “And she had young kids. I was very motivated by seeing her business.”

Bagelsaurus has since become a launchpad of its own: At least three employee-founded food businesses have emerged from its kitchen since it launched in 2014.

“We’ve been making the same bagels for almost 12 years, which is great,” Ting Hyatt said. “But it’s nice to see something different come out of our kitchen.” 

Even as the space has grown more dense, she said the dynamic has shifted.

“It’s a nice community,” Ting Hyatt said. “I feel a lot less territorial than I did early on. Now, it’s like, people will come—we just have to make a really good product and stick with it.”