A bold new coffee shop just opened in Mattituck with an exclusive blend.
Macchiato (13175 Main Road, Mattituck, 631-298-7455) is the latest cafe by roasting veterans Sue and Tal Inbar, who opened the first Macchiato Espresso Bar in New York City in 2006. When COVID hit and the couple closed two of their four locations, they moved with kids Ella and Aiden to Cutchogue full time.
Nearly five years later, Sue and Tal have launched their first East End outpost, simply dubbed Macchiato, in the former Meat’s Meat BBQ space next door to the recently opened Yoga Folk.
“We’ve always loved it out here, and we thought we’d try to open something out east,” says Tal. “This [location] became available and it was already an existing establishment so from a permit standpoint, we didn’t have to change the use or anything.”
The couple signed the lease in November and immediately got to work on preparing the space. The result is a bright, breezy coffee shop with a menu full of carefully crafted coffee, sandwiches, salads and pastries. The highlight, though, is Macchiato 44, an exclusive blend only found at Macchiato cafés for the past 16 years.
Macchiato 44, made by Seattle-based Fonté Coffee, was the result of Tal wanting a specific flavor profile for his coffees. He and Fonté founder Paul Odom collaborated to make a slow-roasted blend of Arabica and Robusta, with a naturally sweet aftertaste.
To hear Tal talk about his coffee is like listening to someone recite a sonnet to their beloved. He was born in Israel and traveled Europe with his family during his formative years, and developing a taste for excellent European-style coffee — but his beloved, Sue, didn’t initially share the interest.
“When I met [Tal], I drank 7-Eleven blueberry coffee,” Sue says with a laugh. Two decades on, she has a much deeper understanding and love for the beans, and is excited to share that with the North Fork.
“In the city, I have always [handled] the bills, HR, things like that…Now, I’m going to get involved. My load has lessened quite a bit since we closed the two stores so now I have the time. Now I’m behind the counter!”
Some of the more popular items on the Macchiato menu so far have been the iced vanilla matcha — a favorite among kids from nearby Mattituck-Cutchogue Jr. Sr. High School — and differently flavored lattes, as well as the titular espresso with foam. The menu also includes housemade pastries, breakfast and lunch sandwiches and freshly baked loaves of bread. The Inbars plan to source ingredients locally during the warmer months, as well as offer grab-and-go food items.
Both Sue and Tal love the small-town vibe of the North Fork, and the friends they’ve made since moving to Cutchogue have been immensely helpful, offering assistance in getting the store open, lending them tools and services. One neighbor even lent them a pick-up truck the last few months.
“I think Manhattan is a machine,” says Tal. “We’ve been extremely fortunate, between friends of our kids and our neighbors. We were joking that they were more excited about this than us!”
Macchiato is open Monday–Friday, 6:30 a.m.–3 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, 7 a.m.–3 p.m. Visit @macchiato_espresso_bar on Instagram.
