Beachy Bean a perfect fit for Long Neck

If you are a chef at a well-known Rehoboth Beach restaurant, the most logical upward career move would be a higher profile eatery.

Or, if you can muster the financial backing, a restaurant of your own.

And, opening his own place was, sort of, the path Dennis Marcoux chose after working in the kitchen at the Dogfish Head Alehouse in Rehoboth. But it wasn't a restaurant he opened.

Instead, Dennis and Amy Marcoux decided to open a gourmet coffee house in the Long Neck area of Millsboro.

For their venture, they selected a location just off busy Route 24, theoretically convenient for locals and vacationers alike. And they named it The Beachy Bean.

"It was logical because we did not want a restaurant and we did not want a bar," said Dennis Marcoux.

"Plus, with young kids, we knew those things would not work," said Amy Marcoux.

With both having restaurant experience and a continuing passion for food, they settled on a cafe concept with fresh roasted coffee, homemade pastries and other breakfast options, including omelets. They also offer bagels from the Brooklyn Bakery.

Initially, the couple bought pastries from Old World Breads in Lewes but now Amy Marcoux bakes them herself.

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"We started to do enough volume that we decided to do it ourselves," she said.

The nice thing is, the aroma of fresh baked goods just adds to the olfactory experience created by fresh-brewed coffee.

"I couldn't help but love the wonderful smells," said Penny Torrelle, a vacationer from Washington, Pennsylvania, who stopped in with her two children for breakfast one recent morning.

In addition, The Beachy Bean also offers an array of sandwiches, including several vegetarian options. All are made from scratch and reflect Dennis Marcoux' years of experience in the kitchen.

"We are pretty confident that once people come in, they will leave happy," he said.

"I thought our breakfast was fabulous," said Torrelle.

Once they committed to a coffee cafe, Dennis Marcoux immersed himself into the wonderful world of coffee roasting. He decided that one secret to great coffee was to roast small batches of beans regularly.

His shiny Artisanal 6 roaster occupies a spot in a back room, with a door to the outside in case he wants to dissipate those strong roasting smells. Fortunately, he tends to roast coffee at night when the cafe is closed.

And there is a reason why he roasts only in small batches — often as hot as 500 degrees.

"Chemically, (roasted) beans start to decompose within seven days," he said.

In addition to an array of coffees to drink on the spot, The Beachy Bean also sells beans by the pound. They will grind it, if needed.

In addition to the Long Neck emporium, they also sell their coffee at two local farmers' markets — Milton and the Garden Shack on Beaver Dam Road in Lewes.

They also have an extensive selection of tea from Harney and Sons., a well-known New York purveyor.

Though the sandwiches and pastries are delicious, the star of The Beachy Bean show is the fresh roasted coffee.

In its four months of existence, the most popular coffees so far would be Stigia, from Ethiopia, G'Mornin' Sunshine from Mexico and Tightrope, which is a blend of all their beans.

They also offer a terrific espresso, which is made from imported Brazilian beans.

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For those who like fancier coffees, they also offer cappuccino, latte, mocha, chai latte, and others — along with an array of flavored syrups.

In warm weather, most coffees are available iced.

"This time of year, we sell a ton of iced coffee," Dennis Marcoux said.

So far, the couple is enjoying the hours, open early and usually closed by mid-afternoon, which gives them time with their two young sons, ages four and six.

"We are home for dinner and that helps," said Amy Marcoux.

Though business so far has been good, the couple has some trepidation about the location, which is adjacent to the Sea Esta Motel on Rudder Road, about one mile east of Route 24.

"Our biggest challenge so far has been location," he said. "But, slowly but surely people are finding out," he said.

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If you go

The Beachy Bean

98 Rudder Road, Millsboro

6 a.m. to 2 p.m.

302-945-1571