"When husband-and-wife duo Maria Tacuri and Vlad Sinev opened Zaruma Gold Coffee in 2021, they envisioned the brightly lit coffee shop to be a homey and inviting space for people to gather. But the location of this quaint cafe was a bit awkward: Sandwiched between Somerville’s hectic Highland Avenue and bustling Medford Street, the tree-lined Woodbine Street isn’t a major artery that receives much foot traffic. A few customers came mostly on weekends when residents used the nearby bike path for leisure activities. Business was “very slow,” Sinev says. But the long-awaited Medford branch of the Green Line changed the game. “Once the new station opened, we saw new customers come by every day,” says Zaruma staffer Patty Llerena, gesturing to the Magoun Square station right across the street. Owner Sinev also notes that commuters who frequent the station make up the majority of the new clientele, including many Somerville neighbors who didn’t know the place existed because they never walked by." - Valerie Li Stack
