Whittingham Coffee House Brews Coffee and Community in Long Beach Township
For owners Alex and Megan Kritz, the new Whittingham Coffee House in North Beach Haven is about more than just coffee. It’s about bringing people together and sharing in the “magic” of LBI. Located at 1501 Long Beach Blvd. – the former site of Surf Buggy Bike Shop and Side Door Donuts – Whittingham Coffee House is currently operating as […] Alex and Megan Kritz have opened Whittingham Coffee House in Long Beach Haven, New Jersey, which serves coffee, specialty lattes, artisan tea, and pastries. The couple, originally from Rockaway, met at 11 years old and started dating at 17, and married last New Year’s Eve. The coffee shop features custom artwork and photos of LBI landmarks. The pair were trained by baristas at Devoción, where their coffee is sourced from a farm in Bogotá, Colombia and shipped directly to the roastery in Brooklyn. The most popular drink so far is the “Salted Salte with white chocolate,” and “Golden Hour.”
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For owners Alex and Megan Kritz, the new Whittingham Coffee House in North Beach Haven is about more than just coffee. It’s about bringing people together and sharing in the “magic” of LBI.
Located at 1501 Long Beach Blvd. – the former site of Surf Buggy Bike Shop and Side Door Donuts – Whittingham Coffee House is currently operating as a to-go coffee shop, serving coffee, specialty lattes, artisan tea, and pastries. Husband and wife Alex and Megan opened the doors for the first time over the holiday weekend, and they received a warm welcome: “We sold every last bean in the building” before Memorial Day, Alex said.
The small café features a large dining room, not yet open to the public, that will seat about 30 people. Whittingham captures the charm of the Island with custom artwork and photos of LBI landmarks, such as the Shack, decking the walls. There’s even an embroidery made by Megan’s mother when she was a child. The dining area will hopefully be open later this summer, Alex said. For now, customers can enjoy a few picnic tables outside the café.
The Kritzes, originally from Rockaway in Morris County, met at 11 years old attending the same middle school. The high school sweethearts started dating at 17 and finally tied the knot last New Year’s Eve.
“The first time he ever drove on the highway was to come visit me down here,” Megan said.
Megan has spent summers on the Island with her family for the past 25 years, but she and Alex moved into the small apartment above the café last year, where they now live full-time. The two are passionate about LBI’s history and integrating themselves fully into the community, they said.
“We spent all winter going to the museums, exploring, going to the library, fundraisers, house tours. It’s been a lot of fun,” Megan said.
Before jumping into their own business, Alex and Megan both worked in the hospitality industry for the past 10 to 15 years. Megan worked in hotels in Manhattan, where she and Alex previously lived, and Alex worked in restaurants throughout New Jersey.
“We helped other folks open things; we opened a deli together, I helped open a hotel, and he’s helped open a couple restaurants. We always did it for others and wanted to do it for ourselves,” Megan said.
Whittingham Coffee House was named after her late stepfather, Todd Cunningham, who jokingly went by “Ted Whittingham” as a family nickname. When the property became available, they decided to pursue their dream of opening a café in honor of him.
“We did it to be close to family, and also to keep his dream alive, because he loved LBI. He loved making friends here, and we wanted to continue that in his honor,” Alex said.
Alex and Megan explored other names for the business, but said that ultimately, it wouldn’t exist without Cunningham, and the name wouldn’t have meant as much to them.
The couple researched relentlessly to source the right coffee, they said. Eventually, they landed on Devoción, a wholesaler with a unique “farm to table” approach. Their coffee comes from a farm in Bogotá, Colombia, and is shipped directly to the roastery in Brooklyn. They can receive the coffee in 10 to 12 days, Megan said.
“We went to the mecca of coffee, also known as Brooklyn, and we tried a lot of different cups,” Alex said. “We had to find something we were excited about if we were ever going to get people excited about it.”
Alex and Megan were trained by baristas at Devoción, where they learned the in-depth audio and visual cues involved in making a good cup of coffee. While both of them worked in various aspects of the service industry, neither had experience as a barista, so they had a lot to learn, Megan said. Learning from the young but experienced group of baristas was eye-opening and allowed for a huge confidence boost once they figured it out.
Megan’s favorite drink on the menu is the “Salted Pretzel Latte,” with white chocolate, sea salt, espresso and milk. Their most popular menu item so far is the “Golden Hour,” with espresso, caramel, honey and milk.
Whittingham’s menu also includes artisanal tea from a company called ARTEAO, known for its matcha, and pastries by Sweet Melissa Goodness. They plan to offer avocado and ricotta toast options in the future.
“We’re starting small; we want to get you hooked on the coffee first,” Alex said.
Whittingham Coffee House will be open from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m. Thursday through Monday until the end of June; then they will most likely be open every day for the summer. Alex and Megan plan to be open year ’round, which they said is a “no-brainer” now that they live here full-time.
“On the south side of the Island, throughout the off-season, there’s nowhere to really sit down with your laptop throughout the day. We have wonderful options on the north side, so that’s kind of the gap in the market we’re looking to fill,” Alex said.
“We want to be somewhere to work from home, but not from home, but not too far from home,” Megan said.
The Kritzes have some ideas for future events and possibly an evening dessert service, which they hope to roll out during the off-season. They took inspiration from Cafée Bacio, which used to have desserts and espresso at night.
So far, their favorite part of the process has been meeting other new business owners and their neighbors. Every customer and business owner who has reached out has been encouraging, Megan said.
Their hope for Whittingham Coffee House is that it becomes a warm, welcoming place that brings the community together. Alex said they chose the sun as their business logo because the sunrise and sunset are such a big part of summer on LBI, and they want to remind people of the things they love about the Island.
“We want to capture some of the magic that is LBI and match it,” Alex said.
They’re most looking forward to growing on the Island, both as a business and as a family. “It feels very much like we’re starting the next chapter,” Alex said.
Check out @whittinghamcoffeehouse on Instagram for more information and to stay up to date.