This little adventure started with a rain-soaked drive down to York to meet a friend for a drink…and ended with a cancellation by that friend and an even more rain-soaked drive back to Harrisburg. In between those two things I had a rain-date…with coffee.

I heard about Macklin’s from a random online search, and almost bypassed them. It said “Macklin’s Cupcakes and Coffee,” so I figured that they were probably just a deli or bakery that happened to also occasionally keep a pot of coffee warm. That’s usually my experience with a place that says “and coffee” in the name! Well, you know that didn’t happen, or else I wouldn’t be posting about it.

The place is owned by a guy named Mack Farquhar and his wife and it’s been open since September of 2011. Pretty brave of him I think to have started a coffee shop of all things right in the middle of the Great Recession, but it seems to still be going strong. In fact, it seems to be kind of a local fixture; they have music there some nights and the locals seemed to be clustering in there during the downpours that were hitting just as I walked through the doors.

The coffee they had held a surprise…it was a blend from St. Thomas Roasters up in Lancaster! It was great to see someone contracting from a local beanery like that, especially since it was probably my favorite coffeehouse to visit so far. I chose a blend made up of the regular house coffee cut with a little bit of the decaf. The regular was the Lancaster blend from St. Thomas and the decaf was Guatemala. As you might expect, the coffee had quite the earthy flavor. I regret that I didn’t have room in my stomach for a cupcake after stuffing myself with spaghetti prior to heading out into the storm…but that’s just a good reason to come back again right?

The only downside of this coffee house is the location. It’s in a shopping plaza that is incredibly busy on a Saturday night, and almost impossible to find via Google Maps! Once you get there though, the shop is kind of off in a quiet-ish corner of the mall and the owners did a capital job on the interior, making it really warm and inviting. Definitely a beautiful alternative to a rainy day…or a cancelled night out.

Random interior shot…

Some good eats…

Some good art…

I saw the sign…