The basics:
- Eric LeGrand expanding LeGrand Coffee House with second location
- New café set to open in Middletown‘s Kings Commons shopping center
- Expansion follows strong growth at flagship Woodbridge location
- Partnership with Monmouth County family sparked project
Eric LeGrand isn’t slowing down.
Following a milestone 2025 marked by a Rutgers-branded bourbon launch and continued growth at his Woodbridge coffee shop, the Rutgers icon and rising entrepreneur is set to open a second LeGrand Coffee House in Middletown this spring.
The expansion – born out of a partnership with longtime customers from Monmouth County – marks the next chapter for the brand.
“For quite some time now, I have been getting asked, ‘Are you going to open up more LCH’s?’ Well, I’m super proud to announce that LeGrand Coffee House will be officially opening up in Middletown in Spring 2026,” he posted on social media Feb. 12. “I can’t thank my staff and the people behind the scenes at our first location enough for all of their hard work, creating a space for people to enjoy great coffee, feeling comfortable while there, and leaving satisfied.
“They are the smiling faces that you see on a daily basis as we welcome you into our business. Opportunities like this second location wouldn’t happen without them.”
Catching up
During a recent interview with NJBIZ, LeGrand reflected on a banner 2025, the move into Middletown and the future of his growing brands.
The discussion began with a recap and highlights from 2025.
LeGrand Bourbon, which was co-founded by LeGrand and Brian Axelrod in March 2025, continued its growth. LeGrand said a key 2025 highlight was a collaboration with his alma mater, Rutgers University, to release a bourbon series. The first drop from the Scarlet Knight Series debuted Oct. 1.
The collaboration features a special bottle – adorned with the Rutgers block R.
“That Scarlet Knight Series was big,” LeGrand told NJBIZ. “I think sometimes people just think that you could put somebody’s logo, put a college logo on a bottle label like that – you can’t. There’s a lot of hoops and hurdles you got to go through in order to get that done.
“That was definitely the highlight of 2025 for the bourbon, getting that collaboration going with the Scarlet Knight Series.”
Part of the community
He then discussed the LeGrand Coffee House.
“For the coffee shop for 2025 – continuing to see growth each year in and year out, which has been awesome to see,” he said. The cafe bearing his name debuted in 2022 in his hometown of Woodbridge. “Every year that we have been open, we have seen growth in our revenue – there are more people coming through the door.
“So that’s been awesome to look at and obviously that led into the expansion for 2026.”
LeGrand spoke about the evolution of that business since its opening, how it’s integrated into the Woodbridge and become a community staple. “We definitely have our regulars that come every day – some come a few times a day. We definitely are now their go-to spot in Woodbridge Township, which has been awesome to see, because that’s exactly what I wanted,” said LeGrand. He noted that the store also gets visitors from the around the state.
Coffee and connections
LeGrand pointed out that this Middletown expansion is a direct result of the flagship Woodbridge shop.
“It’s funny how the second opportunity became, because it’s a partnership with a family who were customers of mine,” LeGrand explained of the Kapsales family, who he is working with on the new store. “They came up from the Holmdel area twice a month. They really enjoyed it. The Kapsales family – they left me a note around March or April of last year, saying, hey, if I’m looking to expand, they would be interested – if it’s a partnership, franchise, all that stuff.”
LeGrand said he let that sit for a moment – wondering if he was ready yet for expansion.
“And finally, probably around, like June – I said, you know what, let me look into this more,” he explained. “And I got to know Pete, Amanda, and Judy – the Kapsales family. And I said, maybe it’s time to expand.”
‘Here we are’
And that organic moment speaks to the community connection LeGrand has built through his remarkable and inspiring life-story – and continues through his entrepreneurial endeavors.
“It’s insane how it actually happened. And I didn’t jump on it right away because I felt like I wasn’t ready yet,” LeGrand explained. He noted that as summer approached, he decided to explore the potential partnership further. “And it’s crazy to fast forward six to eight months later – here we are.”
The new location will open at the Kings Commons shopping center on Route 35 in Middletown. The property includes ShopRite, Nicholas Creamery, Rosie’s Pizza, Just Salad, and more. Booskerdoo Coffee & Baking formerly occupied the site.
Kings Commons, Middletown:
LeGrand said that they scouted that area of northern Monmouth County as a potential site for the new store – eventually landing on Middletown.
“Middletown, Aberdeen, Fort Monmouth,” said LeGrand about locations they were looking at, also noting the upcoming Netflix studio project on the former U.S. Army base. “That whole area we were targeting. And then it just so happens that my dog trainer, who’s now in Atlantic Highlands, but he used to be right behind the shop, right on Magnolia Way back there.
“And I remember Booskerdoo, Nicholas Creamery, and I saw that Booskerdoo wasn’t there anymore. And I was like, maybe we should look into that location,” he said. After getting in touch with the right people, things moved forward. “And here we are.”
Well-known in the neighborhood
LeGrand pointed to his past connection to the Middletown community – including his participation in the 2024 ribbon cutting for McMahon Park as well as speaking to the Middletown Board of Education last year. He has also done a previous collaboration with his new neighbor, Nicholas Creamery, along with the iconic, local sandwich shop Taliercios.
He said the feedback about Middletown expansion has been amazing.
“Honestly … I don’t really get too emotional too much. But to see the response, it almost choked me up a little bit,” said LeGrand. “I was just reading how happy people are — these are random people that I have no idea who they are. So just reading some of their comments and stuff like that. I was just like – wow, this is incredible to see the response of other businesses that are just randomly reaching out.
“And I’m like, I can’t really do anything yet, because we’re trying to open up,” he joked. “People are reaching out like – hey, you guys opening up tomorrow? People asking – are we hiring? I’m like, whoa, we still got to do construction on it.
“So, it’s been overwhelming in the most positive way you could think.”
Down to the details
“We are very proud to welcome LeGrand Coffee House to Middletown,” Middletown Mayor Tony Perry told NJBIZ. “Eric is someone our community deeply respects. When he joined us for the grand opening of our all-inclusive McMahon Park, he delivered an inspiring message about perseverance, belief, and bringing people together. His positive spirit left a lasting impression that day, and we’re excited to see that same energy take root here in Middletown.”
LeGrand noted that while the excitement, buzz and feedback has been gratifying, he has had some sleepless nights following the announcement as he went through the mental checklist of everything that needed to happen to get this second site up-and-running. And if you’ve read these pages before about his story, you will know LeGrand is detail-oriented and wants things running correctly and properly.
He is certainly not a figurehead leader just lending his name to these different ventures. LeGrand is deeply involved with the nitty-gritty details of his businesses. And he pointed out that his partners have not been in the coffee business before, so he’s working with them to get them up to speed on the day-to-day operation; as well as connecting members from the new team to members of his current coffee house team to get things on the same page.
“I got to make sure that it’s running just like location number one,” said LeGrand, who lauded his partners as a great family who he is excited to work with. “I’m excited for this family – this opportunity to grow the brand. And I think that they’re really excited about it as well. And I’m already picturing that grand opening there – it’s going to be insane: the LeGrand opening.”
The Middletown location will follow the same blueprint as the Woodbridge site.
“Same model. Same vendors. Same food items – same menu. Keeping everything the same,” LeGrand said. “That exposed brick wall that I have in my first location – that’s going to be in the second location. That’s going to be our staple. We’ll have a nice mural on the wall. I’m putting a new mural on my wall in the Woodbridge location, so that’ll be new.
“But other than that, we’re trying to keep this just like the first one,” he explained. “We found success with the first model. Obviously, we’re still growing and learning. But we found what works and what our customers like. I don’t want to change it up for the second location.”
The post LeGrand expands brand again with new Middletown coffee shop appeared first on NJBIZ.
