Something's Brewing at Custom House—A Third Location

Custom House Coffee, a staple to local coffee connoisseur's palette, plans to open up a third location in East Greenwich at 250 Main St. today.

Co-owners of the Portsmouth location George Doumaney of Tiverton and Mark Libby of Swansea have been running back and fourth between the two shops and couldn't be more thrilled about the new location.

"East Greenwich has the same demographic as Portsmouth and we liked the storefront which is on Main Street," said Libby. "There is a real sense of community there and we were very welcomed going in."

When it comes to the local community, Doumaney and Libby say they are invested.

Throughout the years, Custom House Coffee has helped different charities and organizations, including booster clubs, and Portsmouth Middle and High Schools.

Just last year, they created sweatshirts and T-shirts with the Custom House logo. Five percent of all proceeds from selling these shirts went to the Portsmouth booster club.

So, how do the owners differentiate Portsmouth from its original café in Middletown?

"Our kitchen staff is slightly different and we focus a little more on meals ready to go," Libby said about the Portsmouth shop. "There are not many stationary people here. Our customers are going back and fourth from home to work."

"Middletown is a smaller organization," Doumaney said. "We use the exact same coffee, roasted fresh from Middletown daily."

The Middletown location at 796 Aquidneck Ave. is the wholesale and roasting headquarters for Custom House.

When Bob Mastin, founder of Custom House Coffee and owner of the Middletown location, was asked the same question, he couldn't agree more.

"The coffee standards are identical, but there is no one-size-fits-all for a coffee shop so it's good to adapt the store to the location that you are in," Mastin said.

Though the East Greenwich customer may be similar to that of Portsmouth, it will be a smaller location and, therefore, a smaller operation.

Portsmouth does live music every weekend within the coffee shop. While there will be no such performances at the East Greenwich location, Libby says he has some ideas in the making.

"Once a month they have what they call the Walk of Main Street, where they close Main Street down and there are about 1,500 to 2,500 people walking around," he said. "It's kind of a sidewalk café. We could have music for that day."

When it comes to making sure everything runs smoothly on a day-to-day basis, they rely on their highly experienced staff.

"Our employees are the most important part of the business," said Libby.

But of course, Custom House wouldn't be Custom House without one key ingredient.

"The coffee," said Doumaney. "It truly is the best coffee I've ever had and I kind of consider myself a coffee snob."

The Portsmouth location is open Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday from 7 to 7 and on Sundays from 8 to 6.

For more information about Custom House Coffee and its locations, please visit their Web site here.