Merrick's Coffee Barn opens second location, in Albertson
Outside the new Coffee Barn drive-thru coffee and dessert bar in Albertson. Credit: Coffee Barn, Albertson
A hit when it opened in Merrick in 2022, Coffee Barn was on the front end of the refurbished Dairy Barn trend, piling pies, doughnuts, cookies and other whimsical, colorful treats atop lattes and coffee beverages, setting social media ablaze.
Now, four years later, they’re expanding to the North Shore. The second Coffee Barn will open in Albertson on Sept. 17.
When longtime Massapequa resident Christine Abatemarco, a busy mother of four, commuted back and forth to her family’s manufacturing business in Garden City, her first stop of the day was the Dairy Barn on Merrick Road. Once a part of the rhythm of her family’s daily life, when the Abatemarcos had the opportunity to take over the then-shuttered Merrick location in 2022, they jumped at it.
Like in Merrick, the new Albertson outpost will feature For Five coffee, and while it has a staple menu featuring many of the drinks that put the Merrick location on the map, Anthony Abatemarco, Christine’s son and the chief marketing officer for Coffee Barn, stresses the customization available to its guests.
“We want people to have their choice. We have hundreds of possible options," Anthony Abatemarco said. "Start with a specific dirty soda, milkshake or latte, and build from there. It all depends how dramatic you want to get. Do you want a piece of pie on top of your coffee? It’s up to you.”
Seasonally, specials will be posted on Instagram and their website; for the fall, both locations will be highlighting a pumpkin spice latte served in an actual pumpkin ($31) which “comfortably serves three,” according to Abatemarco. Less “extra” but equally autumnal is a pumpkin pie milkshake.
Java purists can get an iced coffee for as little as $4.50 and accessorize it with a doughnut, slice of pie or even a cinnamon roll. Prices top out at around $15 (excluding the pumpkin special). Bestsellers include the rainbow cookie latte, which features an Uncle Joey's Rainbow Explosion cookie atop a 24- or 32-ounce drink, and the cinnamon bun latte, complete with a mini cinnamon bun on top. Both are priced at $10.50 for 24 ounces.
In the four years since it opened, Coffee Barn — which is independent from both The Barn and Ready Coffee franchises — “went from a passion project to something that we're now deeply involved in,” said Abatemarco.
The family’s business continues to evolve, recently adding a line of homemade whipped creams to their offerings. Currently, featured flavors are fall-friendly pumpkin and caramel whips. “We kind of wanted to create a place on Long Island that we wish we had growing up. Extra is our first, middle and last name,” he explained.
Long Island’s rediscovery of the Dairy Barn is not new. And true to origins, Coffee Barn sells sundries and everyday household items like milk, juice, peanut butter, eggs and bread. As the concept took off, it inspired the family to bring a Coffee Barn to the North Shore.
When a Willis Avenue location popped up, on the border of Roslyn Heights and Albertson, the Abatemarcos knew they had found their next location. With “easy access to Manhattan and Queens from all the highways, even folks coming from North Jersey,” it felt like a winning location for brand expansion. “We just knew it was the perfect site for coffee bar number two.”
Coffee Barn, 1181 Willis Ave., Albertson, 516-960-2276, coffeebarnli.com; Open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. from Sunday through Thursday, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
A global freelancer who has checked her suitcase to raise her young daughter on her native Long Island, Marie Elena will always make time for good mezcal, even better tacos and killer conversation. Preferably, in a corner bar seat. She can be found on Instagram at @mariesworldeats.
