Fuel Coffee Bar

Rude barista. Muffins and biscotti from Costco and they’re still on the tray from the store. Nice themed décor.

What coffee house doesn’t open until noon? What a joke. Just go to Presti’s. Is the owner to lazy to get up? I don’t get it

Waked in for the first time, very friendly atmosphere. The Barista working is a very friendly guy. Had a very nice talk about the different roasts and how each one is done. A definite go for a good priced/​good tasting coffee! Stinks I don’t live here or I’d be a regular

Fuel didn’t exactly feel like a coffee shop, but more like a friend’s partially converted 70’s basement or a secret clubhouse. It’s a unique space with a special and relaxing vibe. Did I mention that this used to be a gas station?!
There’s a car fuel themed décor and menu, an intimate stage for live music, and treats under glass domes from nearby Corbo’s. Most importantly of course is that the fair trade, organic, award-​winning coffee is delicious.
I enjoyed the smooth Stevie Nicks tunes to go along with my delicious dirty chai.

The hours are unpredictable. I don’t understand why a business wouldnt keep their hours consistent with what is posted on their own door.

Ha, looks like I lied when I decided I was done with Fuel. I tried to go there on this sunny Sunday, emphasize tried. I even checked the hours online, ensuring that it was open. But lo and behold, it was closed. Of course. Who wants coffee on Sunday?

Nice laid back atmosphere. Not snooty or hipster. Not very crowded the two times I’ve been here. Good place to come work. Enough outlets for laptops. Latte was good. Wish they had more variety on desserts/​pastries. It is small so if there are people talking it’s hard to tune them out so bring earbuds if you’re trying to work

The coffee and staff here are excellent. It is a perfect place to stop for something to drink, a bite to eat, or simply have a nice chat with the owner or barista or one of the locals.
The coffee is fresh, and usually includes an international brew as well as some house special espresso drinks. If you need to hear more, just go try it!

My family and I decided to go for a drive on the eastside of Cleveland when my siblings and I were in town over Easter. After looking for a parking spot in Little Italy we decided to pay to park at Fuel and walk around the neighborhood.
When walking back to our car my sister and I saw the sign that said «The best coffee in Cleveland». My sister and I are pretty big coffee fans so we bought a Americano. The owner was around and told us about the decorations and how he found most of them on EBay or at antique stores in the area.
My dad also loved the hot chocolate he got. He said that it was one of the best he has had.

I live across the street from Fuel Coffee Bar, and I’ve got to say, I love their coffee. The owner Dave is super rad. The staff is amazing and I love how convenient it is. Prices are good, abs pastries come mostly from the famous Corbo’s bakery. What more do you need?

Free parking for customers, in Little Italy! They have 6 spots right up front!
Nice little spot to sit down with my work, have a nice cup of local organic coffee, and work in peace without someone trying to flip the table and kick me out. That being said, they have no food aside from muffins that were stale (the staff admitted that the muffins are delivered once or twice weekly and were already stale at this point — wish they told me before I bought mine).
Free wi-​fi, free parking, good coffee, nice and honest staff… I would come here all the time if there was some food/​pastries available so I don’t get hungry while working.
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Explanation of my rating system —
5*: Epitome of something, the best I’ve had, would LOVE to go back
4*: Great food and happy to go back regularly, but not the best of the category
3*: Food is fine. I may spontaneously decide to go there based on convenience. But no need to go back either.
2*: If you insist, I guess I’ll come along. I’ll find something to eat. But I wouldn’t have picked it.
1*: No plans to come back. I’ll try to talk companions out of going. If they insist, I may come and not eat, or may just see them some other time.

Delicious coffee!
Great place to go for either a regular old cup of coffee or something fancier made with espresso.
Very friendly staff.
Not your typical «coffee shop» feel. A little small and not very private if you’re trying to do work or something like that, but definitely worth trying out!
Update: have been trying to go back and it seems they are ALWAYS closed!

Had an excellent cup of coffee here.

Great atmosphere (very cozy and warm)
Great value (cheapest coffee house I know)
Great service (esp the tall man who is often there, I never got his name.)
Great coffee (and a good variety too!)
What more can you ask for?
Shame that not many people know about this place, really is a great new addition to Little Italy. I will definitely be back.

This place is excellent. It’s a great place to meet with friends as well as to get some work done. Every time I visited I was warmly greeted – the staff is really top notch and you can tell they really care about their customers and their products.
Coffee was also delicious — no complaints here! Definitely a great addition to Little Italy!

While bumming around Little Italy waiting for a table at La Dolce Vita (see 2 star La Dolce Vita review), my friends and I decided to pop in at Fuel coffee bar. Knowing it was going to be a «hip» place (all the cool places have one word names right?) and seeing the gigantic rainclouds overhead, we took our chances.
I walk in and immediately I’m lovin’ it. Remember that this place used to be a pretty mediocre convenient store, but it has been transformed into a really one-​of-​a-​kind coffee bar. I’m saying coffee bar because there’s an actual bar surrounding the drink creation area. I was giggling the whole time at the «fuel» theme, which reminds me of a gas station 99 cent coffee blend (cough cough Sheetz). I ordered the iced fuel, while my friends got the fuel of the day. My friends enjoyed their hot fuel while I was delightfully surprised at how smooth the iced fuel was.
Here’s the dealbreaker, folks. When you go into other little independently owned coffee shops, there’s usually half-​n-​half, sugar, Splenda, stirrers, and that’s just about it. NOT HERE. CONDIMENTS GALORE. You can add syrups FOR FREE in your beverage, choose from 5 different sweeteners… or even more (?), add half-​and-​half or whole milk, and powder up your beverage to perfection with chocolate or cinnamon. Having a myriad of add-​ins allows for my beverage to be ~perfect~.
The seating area is very intimate and cozy. The bar seats up to 3 people and the shop seats about 10, which is really neat when you want to clamp down and read a book, but can be a huge bummer when there is open mic night. That being said, we visited Fuel during a high schooler’s «my first open mic» experience, where she played covers of awful mid 2000s soft rock songs. New Shoes by Paolo Nutini and You’re Beautiful by James Blunt anyone? No thank you. We were stuck in this odd situation similar to a coffee shop purgatory, where some of us sat down 5 feet away from her, and others stood from afar. There came a point where we all realized that we much rather sit outside in the light rain at this point than handle another 20 minutes of acoustic covers.
In short, excellent coffee, really relaxed and comfy atmosphere, just avoid open mic nights if you want to converse with your friends.

Over reach. Don’t do that. Do one thing really well and people will come back to you again and again. This is why I really like Fuel.
So this girl I occasionally hang out with (Because face it, we all know I am best in small doses) had stopped at Accent for dinner and took the short walk into Little Italy from University Circle. It was a beautiful night and we really wanted to sit outside and relax with a cup of coffee. What we soon realized is that there really isn’t a coffee shop in Little Italy. Corbos and Presti serve coffee, but it’s more of a side venture for them. They also close fairly early.
So quite by accident we came across a large patio with all kinds of tables and chairs all with a small bunch of fresh flowers on them and a really good guitarist in the corner. We soon realized that we had stumbled across a gem. The owner was friendly and gracious, the menu was small but covered all of the basic coffee drinks, and the atmosphere was as charming as you could want. The coffee was fresh, hot, and delicious. We felt like we were in New York City at one of the many little cafes that line the sidewalks there. BONUS… They own six parking spaces on the side of the building. If you spend any time at all in Little Italy you know how essential that is.
The addition of a few small plates would make this my go to coffe shop in the area.
Best of luck to them. This is a business I will go back to over and over again.

I went to Fuel for the first time yesterday, and I just loved the feel of the place… the warm/​cozy décor, the super friendly staff, the good music… I actually stopped by later that same day to re-​Fuel (…haha).
As for the coffee, in the afternoon I tried their International/​World Coffee of the Day, and later that evening I had an iced soy latte. Also tried two of their five biscotti varieties, a chocolate cherry and a cranberry pistachio. Everything was tasty and reasonably priced! The outdoor patio is a nice place to hangout, and open mic night on Wednesday was a lot of fun! (They’ve got a pretty nice «house» acoustic-​electric guitar if you don’t bring your own.)
I’ll definitely be going back to try more coffee varieties and desserts!

We stopped in at Fuel shortly after a big meal at a local Italian eatery to get a caffeine fix. I was pleasantly surprised by the nice warm interior and the comparatively low prices of drinks. Service was extremely friendly and I got the impression this must be a fairly new spot by the demeanor of the barista.
Our cappuccinos were delicious and at $ 3 a pop, very reasonable. I enjoyed the simplicity of the menu and the lovely outdoor patio area. I’d definitely return for a cuppa joe or an espresso drink, next time I’m in the area!

So, on one of my exercise walks, I was coming down the hill through Little Italy and I found that the location of a former convenience store had now become Fuel Coffee Bar.
I was pleased:)
Fuel has the feeling of an outdoor café combined with the warmth of a little corner bistro. The menu which includes (SURPRISE!) Coffee, espresso, organic sweet treats and even dessert fondue, is nice and not terribly pricey. The ambiance is intimate, warm and a nice place to stop for a post-​dinner treat if you’re heading out from the many restaurants in Little Italy, or, if you’re a student, a nice place to stop for a study session and a nosh with friends.
Some of the minor drawbacks are that there’s only street parking (which goes for most ALL of Little Italy), and that I wasn’t sure if they had wifi, but really, it’s a wonderful place to stop for a snack and a pick-​me-​up.
So, if you need to recharge, stop off and get some fuel… at Fuel:)