Quartermaine, an award-winning coffee shop, has been conveniently relocated to Georgetown Square, a good location for WJ students, being much closer than the Starbucks across Old Georgetown Road. Quartermaine serves many WJ students, staff and families daily and is quickly becoming a favorite in the community.
With the Quartermaine Coffee Roasters chain having very few shops, it becomes a “treat” when customers can find a location to get a fresh coffee or tea. WJ parent Marsha Tollefson, who used to work at Quartermaine in Bethesda, explains the “Quartermaine trick.”
“There are not enough Quartermaine[s] around, [so] if I need coffee quickly, I end up going to Starbucks, [and] I also end up asking them to add extra shots to my coffee, while Quartermaine has it right and with a more personal experience,” she said.
Quartermaine Coffee has an eclectic range of drinks for any coffee or tea connoisseur. From coffee and tea by the cup to wholesale, Quartermaine is the place to go.
Founded in 1991 in Rockville, Quartermaine was started by the original Starbucks founders as a regional alternative to the now globalized Starbucks franchise. For nearly two decades, Quartermaine has prided itself on its commitment to “providing its customers with fresh, flavorful locally roasted coffee.” As opposed to larger coffee shop chains, Quartermaine has the opportunity to closely monitor the coffee they import locally through the Port of Baltimore. Frequently, Quartermaine sends coffee specialists on buying and tasting trips to select their signature Aromatica coffees.
It comes as no surprise to hear that Quartermaine was voted “Best of Bethesda” in Bethesda Magazine for its coffee in 2008. With hundreds of loyal customers, Quartermaine offers a sense of community in each of its stores, greeting frequent customers with a friendly “good morning,” something you may not experience in the Starbucks morning rush. Greg Lucsak, manager of the Quartermaine in G-Square, finds their coffee to be different than that of Starbucks.
“We roast locally in small batches with the beans being delivered to our two retail outlets within 24 hours of roasting,” he said. “A national roaster like Starbucks produces coffee on a massive scale with beans sitting in warehouses potentially for months before sale.”