Beachy Bean coffee shop open in Long Neck

The Beachy Bean Café has opened, and owners Amy and Dennis Marcoux say they are ready to bring a coffee house culture to Long Neck this season.

Since opening in March, the owners said, they have wanted to create a coffee house like those they remember from their upbringings in Maryland and Massachusetts. They chose Long Neck because of its eclectic mix of homes and residents, they said.

"We wanted to have something that was different from the convenience store coffee kind of experience," Amy said. "Somewhere you actually sit down with friends or do homework and just be comfortable."

With decades of experience in the food and beverage industry between the two, the couple said they followed the craft beer industry all over the Eastern Seaboard and finally moved to Delaware when Dennis got a job as a chef at Dogfish Head.

When a friend brought back exotic coffee beans from a trip one year, Amy said Dennis began roasting and honed his craft. Once the couple began to have children, opening a café and coffee shop to take advantage of their culinary skills and set their own hours just made the most sense, she said.

"We wanted to open a place we would want to come to," Amy said.

They furnished parts of their coffee shop, café and lounge with their own household furniture, repurposed and repainted in funky colors, to add to the café's comfortable appeal.

Dennis said the Beachy Bean is cultivating a following in Long Neck, and so far, it's been relatively smooth sailing.  There's no television, Amy said, but plenty of books, games, puzzles and Wi-Fi.

"It's a good place where people can come and hang out," Dennis said. "We've only been open a couple months, and we have people who come in every day, religiously."

The café menu ranges from breakfast goodies, omelets and bagels to sandwiches with plenty of options.

With fresh-roasted coffee beans from all over the world in five signature roasts and an ever-changing menu featuring local and seasonal ingredients, the Beachy Bean is bringing a whole new attitude to brunch in Long Neck.

For more information about the Beachy Bean Café, call 302-945-1571 or go to thebeachybean.com.