A family with flavor and coffee with soul.

Some people fall slowly. Others, all at once. For Mike Drilling, his love affair with Latin American culture happened fast. 

Raised just outside Milwaukee in Greendale, Wisconsin, Mike grew up in a world far removed from the Latin American countries he would soon come to cherish. When he was only eight, his parents, Connie and John, took a family trip to Puerto Rico. That's where Mike introduced to warm Caribbean nights that echoed with the melodies of music, bullfrogs, and laughter. It was his first time hearing people speak Spanish, and it became his introduction to a culture that felt like pure happiness.

Life in Puerto Rico was simpler, yet the people and their personalities were vivid and culturally passionate. It didn’t matter the reason, people there lived fully, appreciated the little things, and knew a good conversation was the beginning of moments forever remembered. 

The following year brought another family adventure to Acapulco, where cliff diving and another vibrant way of life sparked his interest. However, the turning point came in 1975, when Mike was only twelve. That summer, his parents did something truly intrepid: they sent him and his older brother to live in Mexico City! Wide-eyed and adventurous, the newly independent Drilling boys roamed throughout that fascinating city, learned the language, and made new friends.

It was surreal to explore incredible places like the Olympic Village, where the brothers climbed the towering diving platforms built for the 1968 Games, daring each other to jump. They later regretted the decision to climb back down rather than leap, free-spirited, into the unknown.

In the 1970s, Mexico City was alive. Electric with color, bold with culture, and brimming with character. For Mike, those summer months weren’t just memorable; they were transformational. While he may have been young, something deep inside had taken root, and his lifelong connection to the Latin spirit, music, and food started to bloom. These places stirred his soul. And as he got older, that feeling stuck.

Years later, his cultural connection deepened through a bond formed between the Drillings and Rogers families when Mike’s daughter, Allison, married Devin Rogers. Through years of camaraderie, lively gatherings, and captivating stories of the Rogers’ Puerto Rican heritage, the families’ time together ignited an enthusiasm for creating a place to meet and celebrate life's simple joys. 

Driven by boundless creative energy and an entrepreneurial spirit, Mike wanted to honor his lifetime passion for good coffee and Latino culture by creating a place where all these things converge. So, he enlisted his son-in-law, an experienced graphic designer, to help bring his vision to life. From there, DIA y Noche was born: DIA Café, a coffeeshop by day, and Noche, a restaurant at night. 

With a background in graphic art, Devin was tapped to infuse DIA Café with a colorful identity reflective of his Latino legacy. A history that includes his Abuela (great-grandmother), Lydia Reyes, who spent most of her 96 years hand-picking coffee beans in the volcanic soils of Utuado, in the mountains of Puerto Rico. The family’s interest in coffee doesn’t end there. Devin’s sister, Lucia, brings magic to DIA Café with expertly crafted and innovative coffee drinks, each a testament to her creative mind and love for coffee making passed down through generations. 

After a successful opening, the family’s mission of helping Latin American communities and coffee bean farmers became an obsession, and the idea of turning DIA Café into a full-blown coffee company flourished. 

Devin and Lucia’s grandfather, Angel Reyes, lives a quiet life in his mom’s house, tending to the land of Utuado and maintaining their roots. He’s known locally (and around Milwaukee from his time there) as quite the character. Although coffee is no longer the Reyes family business, it’s now ours.

Today, DIA’s lineup of fervently bold flavors each has a meaning that honors the creativity of Latin American life, the love of family, and the importance of sitting down and sharing moments.

DIA Café is meant to celebrate culture and serve as a bridge to connect backgrounds, beliefs, and generations. By showcasing Latino artists, we drink in each other’s experiences that help us better understand and inspire compassion. DIA Café honors the boldness of life in Latin America and the importance of sitting down and sharing moments with friends and family.

With every cup, you’re tasting someone’s story, living a little extra, and seizing the day.