Biodiesel Just Got Easier

Biodiesel drivers rejoice! There's a new place to fill your French-fry-smelling tanks thanks to Dr. Dan's Alternative Fuelwerks grand opening of a new, and may we say much more accessible, location, in the Ravenna neighborhood on Friday.

When Seattlest dropped by the Espresso Express on N.E. 65th and 15th Ave. N.E. to check out the scene, we were too late for the speeches and celebrations, but did arrive in plenty of time for the yummy -- and free -- cupcakes from Cupcakes Royale. We also got a chance to talk with Dr. Dan about the new spot, his plans for future expansion and the state of the biodiesel business in general and may we just say that we were charmed. That guy knows his alternative-energy stuff. (We're working on finding some time to sit down with him and conduct a full interview for your reading pleasure.)

But back to the new spot, which we could only be more excited about if we still owned that 1984 Mercedes 300D diesel (we called him "BioMonster"). Along with greater accessibility for those of us who don't live in Ballard, Dr. Dan's new pump is connected to a larger tank (1,000 gallons) than the one in Ballard and there's more room for waiting cars (not to mention coffee and pastries to buy while you wait). But best of all, you no longer need a prepay account to fill up. Now you can walk into the coffee shop, cash in hand or, wait for it, use a credit card and fill 'er up! According to Dan, he's also got a credit card machine for the Ballard location, he's just got to find the time to set it up.

It's a great thing to see Dr. Dan's expanding into more neighborhoods and making his business more accessible. When we lived on Capitol Hill and had the BioMonster, getting down to the Ballard location was just too far to make it worthwhile. But committed as Dan is to providing fuel that is as local as possible, unlike some other giant refineries we might mention, we really wanted to support him. With a pump so close to I5 (and two more on the way) more folks will now be able to visit the nation's oldest and most-committed to local fuel biodiesel supplier.

Stop by and smell the French fries in the air at Espresso Express at 6500 15th Ave. NE. It's open the same hours as the shop: 6AM-6PM Monday to Friday, 7AM -3PM Sautrday and 8AM to 3PM Sunday. (for the record, we didn't pose this photo and you really can get a diesel Jeep and run it on B100.)