Check Out Eric LeGrand's Middletown Coffee Shop

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Many don't know this, but former Rutgers football player Eric LeGrand opened a coffee shop in Middletown in July, and it's been quietly operating under the radar.

Too quietly, says LeGrand.

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"I don't think anyone knows we're here!" laughed LeGrand on Monday of this week. He was inside his Middletown coffee shop, located in the Kings Commons shopping plaza at 1500 Rt. 35 south. LeGrand Coffee House is located across from the Middletown ShopRite, and next to Nicholas Creamery ice cream and Rosie's Pizza, in the space that used to be Booskerdoo Coffee Co. A new exercise studio is supposed to open in the vacant space next door.

For those who don't know, LeGrand is the former Rutgers football player who suffered a life-changing injury in a 2010 Rutgers-Army game. He is a New Jersey native son, having grown up in the Avenel section of Woodbridge, and he played football for Colonia High School, where he was a standout.

He was playing D-1 football for Rutgers as a defensive tackle when he took that life-changing hit: At the time, LeGrand recalled lying on the RU football field, unable to breathe and thinking he was going to die.

He suffered a traumatic spinal cord injury. He cannot walk, is paralyzed and uses a wheelchair.

LeGrand did not give up. He graduated from Rutgers in 2014 and not only does he give motivational speeches after his injury, but he also launched a line of Kentucky bourbon and he also opened a coffeehouse in his hometown of Woodbridge. That coffee shop opened four years ago, on the ground floor of the luxury Avenue + Green apartment complex and just steps from the Woodbridge train station.

While business at the Woodbridge shop has been bustling — they get a lot of train commuters and locals who grew up with LeGrand — the Middletown location is much quieter, admitted both LeGrand and and his business partner, Holmdel resident Peter Kapsales.

Kapsales, in his 70s, and his wife raised their three kids in Holmdel; all three graduated from Holmdel High School. For years, Kapsales worked in technology at Bell Labs. Having gone to Rutgers, Kapsales was a Rutgers football fan and, like thousands of Americans, he was saddened when he heard of LeGrand's injury. When LeGrand opened his first coffeehouse in Woodbridge, Kapsales decided to make the drive up the Parkway to check it out.

"I just started going there once a week," said Kapsales. "I found the coffee very good there, and the breakfast sandwiches delicious. I just found the interior so inviting and just a nice place to sit and have a cup of coffee on a weekend morning. I started asking my wife or my kids, whoever was around, to drive up there with me."

One of those times, he met LeGrand. Kapsales asked him, would he be interested in opening a second coffee shop? LeGrand said yes. LeGrand was familiar with Middletown; he gave a speech here last year for all the teachers at Middletown public schools.

"The first thing I noticed about Eric is how smart he is. He's really a brilliant young man. The second thing is he's just a good person," said Kapsales. "When you open a business with someone, there's all these lawyers and legal contracts involved. With Eric, when he gives his word, he means it. He's a man of his word. And playing sports at such a high level gave him incredible discipline and attention to detail."

"Woodbridge is humming but it's more quiet here," said LeGrand, 36. "I decided to get into the coffee business in the middle of the pandemic in 2020, when the whole world hated each other. I was watching what was happening and I thought about it. I thought, what can bring people together? Coffee! It's something 85 percent of the world drinks and it makes people happier."

Now that fall has begun in full swing, LeGrand and Kapsales want to get the word out about their Middletown coffee shop. LeGrand's Middletown Coffee House is open 7 a.m. - 4 p.m. seven days a week, and it really is the ideal spot to get a cup of coffee as you start your day, or if you need a pick-up. They have pastries, a small selection of breakfast and lunch sandwiches, such as bacon, egg and cheese, avocado toast, a hot ham & swiss panini with Dijon mustard and a chicken pesto sandwich. They have many specialty coffee drinks: The Cinnamon Bun Latte and the Hunny Bunny Iced Latte are very popular, and they also have specialty cold brews. LeGrand said he "of course" had to put a Scarlet Knight latte on the menu; that's a raspberry and mocha latte, served hot.

It's a nice place to pop in for a cup of coffee or specialty hot drink on your way to work in the morning, or before or after dropping the kids off at school.

You can also purchase LeGrand Coffee House's single-origin coffee beans online directly through the official LeGrand Coffee House Online Store. They ship to any location across the United States.