A row of coffee drinks lines the counter at the Depot Bar coffee shop during its first day in business Wednesday, May 6, 2026, at Leghorn Army Depot in Livorno, Italy. Patrons filtered in to enjoy the hot beverages and catch up with colleagues, despite intermittent rain showers. (Chad Garland/Stars and Stripes)
LIVORNO, Italy — Between bursts of rain, workers filtered into a newly opened coffee bar at an Army logistics hub in Italy’s Tuscany region to partake in what some officials hope will bring a renewed communal spirit and maybe a productivity boost.
The Depot Bar at Leghorn Army Depot near Pisa is the only Morale, Welfare and Recreation facility in that part of the Darby Military Community. For over a year, there wasn’t even that after a previous operator shuttered it.
After its opening Wednesday morning, “word got around fast,” said Todd Smith, MWR’s combined activities manager at the base.
The new cafe is run by a Livorno-based vendor and offers a variety of refreshments. An Americano costs 1 euro and a cappuccino 10 cents more, a bit less than prices at the nearest cafes about 10 to 15 minutes from post.
A sometimes overlooked facility, the depot features 750,000 square feet of warehouses for tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and other sensitive equipment, as well as 1.5 million square feet of outdoor storage pads to support commands in Europe, Africa and points farther east.
Workers in dozens of maintenance bays and other trade shops there refurbish tracked and wheeled vehicles.
Espressos, at 90 euro cents, seemed especially popular around noontime Wednesday with patrons, who sipped them while standing at or near the counter, as is customary for the many Italian workers at the logistics base.
A few minutes down the road at Camp Darby, MWR offerings are a bit more robust and include a community center, library, gym and sports fields, but those are mostly services for the airmen, soldiers and other Americans.
A cappuccino sits on a table on the patio outside the Depot Bar coffee shop during its first day in business Wednesday, May 6, 2026, at Leghorn Army Depot in Livorno, Italy. (Chad Garland/Stars and Stripes)
A statue of a chef greets customers to the Depot Bar coffee shop Wednesday, May 6, 2026, at Leghorn Army Depot in Livorno, Italy. The newly opened cafe is the only Morale, Welfare, and Recreation facility on that part of the Darby Military Community, and officials hope it will boost spirits and maybe even productivity at the logistics hub on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. (Chad Garland/Stars and Stripes)
Employees chat over cigarettes and coffee at the Depot Bar during its first day of business Wednesday, May 6, 2026, on Leghorn Army Depot, a logistics hub near Livorno, Italy. (Chad Garland/Stars and Stripes)
Workers from nearby offices, warehouses and trade shops on Leghorn Army Depot gather for a coffee at the Depot Bar during its first day in business Wednesday, May 6, 2026, at the base near Livorno, Italy. (Chad Garland/Stars and Stripes)
A customer at the Depot Bar reaches for an espresso shot, during the cafe’s opening day Wednesday, May 6, 2026, at Leghorn Army Depot, a logistics hub near Livorno, Italy. (Chad Garland/Stars and Stripes)
Italian workers at the depot don’t typically stick around after the workday to play softball or basketball with colleagues, Smith said.
On the depot side, a past vendor struggled with the coffee bar in part because base workers brought coffee machines into their workspaces during the socially isolating months of the coronavirus pandemic, officials say.
Officials are hoping staffers at those facilities are ready to return to communal coffee-drinking rituals. That could bring a rise in productivity by giving them a gathering spot to catch up, brainstorm and whatnot.
“It serves a purpose, especially at Darby, where there’s a lot more Italians than in Vicenza,” Smith said Friday.
The Darby Military Community, which some workers compare to a small town, is the kind of place where everyone knows your name and it’s easy to find the right person to connect with, Smith added.
“You can get a lot of things done really quick,” he said.
