Meet the team

Cartoon illustration of a girl with glasses and shoulder-length hair, smiling, surrounded by other characters.

Adel

Adel (they/them) has many years of coffee experience, and dreams of opening their own shop one day.

Adel is almost always the one who dials in our machines in the morning so we serve our best espresso and drip coffee throughout the day.

Cartoon illustration of three characters with exaggerated facial features and large eyes, one with curly hair, one with straight hair with glasses, and one with a side ponytail.

Callie

Callie (she/her) is one of the most kind people on the planet, and is a big reason Dear Diary Coffee has such a friendly, welcoming vibe. Callie loves Adventure Time, and is currently working on a huge paper mâché recreation of Finn and Jake’s treehouse.

A cartoon drawing of a person wearing a baseball cap, glasses, and a confident expression, with a peace sign gesture.

Dean

Dean (he/him) is a smooth operator. Did you know he makes candles? If Dear Diary smells amazing, it’s probably thanks to Dean.

A cartoon illustration of a woman with glasses, flowers on her shirt, and earrings, smiling at a party. She is holding a drink. In the background, there are two other women, one holding a drink and the other standing nearby.

Karly

Karly (she/her) is the owner of Sugar Bush Bakery by day and a barista… also by day! You can find her sfouf cake, cookies, and other treats at Dear Diary Coffee, Genuine Joes, Royal Blue Grocery.

A cartoon girl with large eyes, freckles, wearing a baseball cap, smiling.

Litsa (rhymes with 🍕)

Litsa (she/her) was inspired to create a coffee shop for artists in 2004, after she had moved to Austin and made her first friends at art meetups. Sixteen years later, she had finally accomplished her goal! She hopes her shop will inspire friendships and contribute to Austin’s creative community.

A cartoon character with glasses and short hair, holding a finger to their chin as if thinking.

Tamlinn

Tamlinn (he/they) has the most culinary experience on our team, and he is a talented songwriter and musician. Tamlinn also happens to be our fearless team leader! If you love one of our seasonal specials, chances are, Tamlinn invented it.

A woman smiling and playing an acoustic guitar on stage with purple and pink lighting, wearing a white T-shirt with text.

Rusty Paige

Caroline (she/her) has been our amazing, super chill open mic host since 2021. She performs solo as Rusty Paige, and she is also the leading lady in a band called The Benefit of Doubt. We’re really thankful to Caroline for bringing the vibe Sunday nights. If you’re looking for a very laid back, friendly open mic environment, Rusty Paige’s Open Mic is the one!

Two women in a cafe, one holding a drink and the other pointing, with colorful balloons and art on the wall behind them.

Group of seven friends smiling and making peace signs while sitting at a restaurant table with food and drinks, with some backpacks in the foreground and a waiter in the background.

A woman with green hair and glasses playing a keyboard and singing into a microphone indoors, with an audience seated in front of her. The room has framed artwork on the wall, potted plants, and large windows letting in natural light.

A decorative banana sculpture with a label that reads 'Top Banana 2026 Dear Diary Coffee' in a cafe setting. The background features a chalkboard menu and shelves with various containers.

About Dear Diary Coffee

Dear Diary’s mission is to keep Austin vibrate by facilitating activities that inspire friendships and cherished memories.

Dear Diary Coffee is a neighborhood coffee shop that is owned and operated by people that live nearby. The staff really values the local community and volunteerism.

We partner with bakers in Austin and San Antonio for our menu items. We also work with a small coffee roasting company in South Austin to serve beans from women-led farms and co-ops around the world. We carefully choose roast profiles that satisfy the refined tastes of espresso drinkers without getting completely lost in sweet, milk lattes.

Art

Our art consignment program, artists pop-ups, and creative meetups are a few ways we contribute to Austin’s creative community. We respect and appreciate the few individuals that dedicate their time and resources to create free and public events for others, so we try to support them by providing space and helping them promote their events.

Mercy

As conscientious consumers, we serve an entirely vegan menu with gluten free options. We are softies that don’t want animals to suffer, and we’re willing to absorb the cost of plant milk to make these options more accessible to everyone.

We are vegan (but you don’t have to be)

Even though Dear Diary Coffee serves an entirely vegan menu, most of our customers are omnivores. We’re very thankful to folks who don’t mind exploring different cuisines, of which “vegan” is just one.

The way we see it, the desire not to hurt animals is very sweet and something to be proud of. At the same time, we applaud others for contributing good things we are unable to. For example, Dear Diary isn’t helping people in crisis around the world. Dear Diary doesn’t provide services to people experiencing homelessness. …You get the idea. No individual can do everything, but we can all contribute to the common good in our own ways.

We are allies

It’s really important to us that all of our customers (and staff) feel accepted and welcome. Since we are a very artsy shop in Central Austin, we attract a lot of queer people. It’s just kind of how it works out.

Being that we’re big softies, we don’t want anyone to feel bad about who they are. We hope our contributions create some equity for marginalized folks without alienating people that identify with a mainstream majority. Having common interests like art and music, for example, help us align around collective goodwill.

We are rated G

We want Dear Diary Coffee to be a place where folks can leave their stresses at the door. The art, gifts, and events at our shop are all Rated G, and we generally avoid political and religious messaging. It’s okay to have beliefs. And it’s also okay to have a space where you can just enjoy coffee, draw, and listen to Legend of Zelda music.

We care

Why so deep, right? We are too local and too involved to not hold ourselves to a high standard. There’s no corporate chain separating Dear Diary’s customers from the decision makers at the top. Ultimately, our employer is you. Every coffee you buy at Dear Diary pays the wage of a barista that probably lives pretty close to you. It’s so intimate. There’s no hiding. There’s passing blame. The community we serve is our own community.