By Allison Perrine
MIDDLETOWN – A taste of home is just around the corner on Sunnyside Road in Lincroft as a new coffee shop opens up at the once-abandoned Sunnyside Market & Deli site.
The new rustic and charming Almost Home Coffee shop officially opened Tuesday after a year of planning, organizing and building. It’s been a dream of owner and Rumson native Robert Doran’s for years after traveling through Asia and the U.S. while tasting some of the best brews around. He brings that worldliness right to Lincroft with morning cups of joe.
“Whenever I would go to a place, that was the best feeling – going to a new coffee shop and feeling like I was almost home,” Doran told The Two River Times. “You’re speaking to the barista and the managers and you almost feel like you’re walking into a family.”
Doran spent some time traveling in 2020, doing so safely once the COVID-19 pandemic began. In the beginning of the year, he spent time in Asia where he visited Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and Bali – all the while looking forward to his next meal paired with a cup of black coffee, he wrote on the Almost Home website.
Doran returned to the U.S. and headed to Florida to spend some of his quarantine in the sun. But to get home to New Jersey, he took an unconventional method of travel – cycling alone up the East Coast. He continued his journey to find fresh cups of coffee while on the road.
“Visiting new, local cafes has always excited me, and my appreciation for them runs deeper than what they have to serve. Their doors open to more than just good food and beverages; they offer a glimpse into the roots of the cities, small towns and communities they are planted in,” he wrote.
But coffee isn’t Almost Home’s only specialty – it’s also a café that sells local, fresh foods made daily. Everything is made from scratch including the condiments, salad dressings, vinegars and baked goods. Even its bacon is house-smoked and cured, said Doran.
“We do everything we can do in house,” he said, which is what helps make the shop unique.
Almost Home offers a variety of breakfast items but its “coffee and comfort” breakfast special is a popular choice. It includes homemade biscuits and sausage gravy with an option to add a fried egg and deep-fried chicken thighs. The hot biscuit sandwich is another popular choice, which Doran called “the adult Jimmy Dean.” It includes a homemade biscuit with sausage, fried egg, cheese and homemade hot honey. And for lunch, the chicken pot pie and meatloaf sandwiches are popular orders, Doran said.
There’s something on the menu for everyone, he noted, whether it’s early morning risers looking for a simple muffin and a coffee or others who might want avocado toast and oat milk lattes. It’s all about the integrity and quality of the food, he said.
Middletown Mayor Tony Perry was one of the many guests who stopped by the coffee shop Tuesday on its opening day. He extended his congratulations on opening and added that the store had “an incredible atmosphere, great food and all the coffee you’ll need.”
In the future, Almost Home, located at 276 Sunnyside Road, plans to host Saturday night dinners as well as a weekly Sunday brunch from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with the option to BYOB. In the meantime, the response from the community has been great since opening day, said Doran. “We’re excited to see what we can do.”
The article originally appeared in the March 11 – 17, 2021 print edition of The Two River Times.
