Almost Home Founder Eyes Expansion Into Ocean County

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Robert "Robbie" Doran, the founder and owner of Almost Home breakfast and lunch spots, which started in Middletown, talked to Patch this week.

Doran just opened an Almost Home coffee shop in Long Branch. It's on the ground floor of Inkwell Lofts condo building on Second Avenue, just a few blocks from the beach.

The new condo building was built at the spot of the beloved former Inkwell Coffee House which, for those who don't know, was a famous bohemian gathering spot for young people in the '60s and '70s, including a young Bruce Springsteen, who lived in Long Branch's West End at the time.

And Doran shared that he's next eyeing opening an Almost Home outpost somewhere in Ocean County — but was mum on which town.

"Ocean County is a market I would love to enter," he shared. "At this point, the location has to mean something to me. I really believe you find true success and passion when you believe in a place, and a place I'm willing to put my reputation up for."

Entrepreneurship runs in Doran's blood. His father, Scott Doran, was a basketball standout at Monmouth University and went on to own and run Shrewsbury Bikes on Rt. 35 for years.

Doran, now 37, started out working in alcohol sales. But he quit in 2017 and traveled for a bit.

"I wanted to see the world, so I traveled to Asia. I really fell in love with the coffee there, the cafes and the intentional morning routines," he said. "I love finding cool places that have that energy. I felt America was so fast paced, with Starbucks and all that. I really had this epiphany moment where I felt like if I could give phenomenal customer service with a great product, a great cup of coffee, that there was a niche for that in the suburbs."

And that's how the original Almost Home location in Lincroft was born.

Five years ago, in 2021, Doran took over the space that used to be Sunnyside Deli. He started serving coffee, made-to-order breakfasts and lunches and prepared salads.

Doran, who grew up in Highlands and then Rumson, said he "used to bike by Sunnyside all the time when I was a kid, so it was really full circle to open a business there."

Word spread, and Doran soon expanded to his second Almost Home location in Navesink — he calls it "Red General" — as well as to Jersey City, Oceanport, Westfield, Westwood and Philadelphia. A new Almost Home coming soon to Hackensack. The Almost Home in Long Branch is strictly a coffee shop, but it will sell pastries and sandwiches and salads to go, prepared by The Blonde Shallot, another local small business Doran partners with.

What's it like running a breakfast empire?

"I love the idea of hospitality. I'm a people person," said Doran. "I love taking care of people. I love the idea of building a place that has longevity and contributes to the community around it."

"I have an amazing staff," he continued. "I have people that believe in me, and have the same passion for customer service and hospitality that I do. I think we're going to keep growing in areas that need it."

Speaking of ... Long Branch Gets A New Coffee Shop, Almost Home At The Inkwell Lofts (Aug. 5)