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The Inkwell Coffee House and what The Inkwell Lofts keeps of it
For more than half a century, the Inkwell Coffee House in Long Branch, NJ was where the West End went after dark: for Dutch coffee, open mic nights, a seat on the porch and a table that stayed yours until 3 a.m. It closed in May 2022. The building on its site carries its name, and this is the story behind it.
The Inkwell Coffee House, 1965 to 2022
The Inkwell opened in 1965 at the corner of Brighton and Second Avenues in the West End, as The Coaster and New Jersey Monthly recorded, and moved a short way down Second Avenue in the 1970s to a Dutch Colonial house at 665 Second Avenue, the corner where The Inkwell Lofts stands today. New Jersey Monthly dates the move to 1979; NJ 101.5 puts it in 1975.
It was a coffeehouse in the 1960s sense. Bruce Springsteen, who wrote Born to Run in a rented cottage nearby, called it “a longhair-friendly local institution one block in from the Long Branch beachfront,” as the Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music recounts. In 2019 New Jersey Monthly called it “an iconic West End gathering place since 1965 that remains a favorite among local musicians, poets and undergrads from nearby Monmouth University.”
What people remember
- Dutch coffee. The signature drink. In 2022 a manager told NJ.com she poured between 200 and 300 a night, and never gave away the measurements.
- The hours. The Inkwell came alive at night; staff remembered working until 3 a.m. and sweeping up as the sun came up (NJ.com).
- Open mic and live music. The Asbury Park Press described it as “a Long Branch institution known for its live music, open mic nights and Dutch coffee.”
- The menu. Fries and celery with peanut butter (NJ 101.5), and grilled sandwiches (New Jersey Monthly).
- The room. Red and white checkered tables and bathroom walls covered in customers’ marker graffiti (NJ.com), colored lights (New Jersey Monthly) and a candle on every table (NJ 101.5).
What It Meant to the West End
The Inkwell belonged to a West End that the music historian Bob Santelli has called a “mini Greenwich village” (Springsteen Center): affordable, close to the beach, and up late. Long Branch High School and Monmouth University students filled its tables for generations.
When it closed, people started two petitions, one to keep it open and one to move it somewhere new, and filled the comments under its last Instagram post. This page is for the people who wrote them.
The Closing and the Site
On Tuesday, May 17, 2022, the Inkwell announced on Instagram that it was closing for good. It “saddens us to say the good times have come to an end,” the post read, as Patch reported. Owner Anthony Esposito, whose family had run the Inkwell since 2001, was retiring, NJ.com reported.
Esposito sold the property to Inspired by Somerset Development after approaching the developer himself (RE-NJ). The Long Branch Planning Board approved the new building in December 2022 (NJBIZ). The Dutch Colonial house that held the Inkwell was demolished in the spring of 2023 (NJ 101.5), and construction began that April. At the groundbreaking Esposito said, “While we are sad to say goodbye to such a beloved building, we are nonetheless heartened that it will begin a new chapter as an integral part of downtown Long Branch.”
The Inkwell Lofts, 22 condominiums over a ground-floor café, opened in April 2026.
What the Building Keeps
- The name. The building is The Inkwell Lofts. After buying the property, the developer went back and bought the Inkwell name and the coffee brand, as Ralph Zucker of Inspired by Somerset Development told NJBIZ.
- A coffee house on the corner. Almost Home opened its café on the ground floor on July 30, 2026, serving the community as well as residents (TAPinto). The developer insisted that the site keep a coffee house (NJBIZ).
- Inkwell coffee. “So, it’s going to be Almost Home, but the coffee is Inkwell,” Zucker told NJBIZ in April 2026, and he said Dutch coffee “like they used to get it” would be on the menu.
- A nod to the old menu. NJBIZ reported plans for celery and peanut butter, from the old menu, and chicken salad alongside the coffee.
What the corner does not keep is the 2 a.m. crowd. The café keeps daytime and early evening hours, and after hours the room becomes a lounge for residents. The building honors the Inkwell by keeping its name, its coffee and a place to sit on the corner, not by trying to be the old Inkwell.
The Inkwell Lofts Today
Where the Coffee House stood there are now 22 condominiums, with Coffee House by Almost Home on the ground floor. These are the furnished model homes.
The Inkwell Coffee House Timeline
- 1965The Inkwell opens at Brighton and Second Avenues in the West End. (The Coaster)
- Mid-1970sBruce Springsteen writes Born to Run in a West End cottage near the Inkwell’s first corner. (NJ.com)
- 1970sIt moves down Second Avenue to a Dutch Colonial house at number 665. (New Jersey Monthly)
- 2001The Esposito family takes over the coffeehouse. (New Jersey Monthly)
- May 17, 2022The Inkwell announces on Instagram that it has closed. (NJ.com)
- December 2022The Long Branch Planning Board approves the new building. (NJBIZ)
- Spring 2023The old house is demolished and construction begins. (NJ 101.5)
- April 2026The Inkwell Lofts opens to its first residents. (NJBIZ)
- July 30, 2026Almost Home opens its café on the ground floor. (TAPinto Long Branch)
Inkwell Coffee House Photos
The Asbury Park Press photo gallery from May 2022 collects Inkwell pictures from its archive: an open mic night in 2000, Anthony and Brian Esposito in 2001 and the Dutch coffee itself. If you have your own photos of the Inkwell, share them with your memory below.
Share Your Inkwell Memory
The Inkwell Lofts is a building of 22 homes on the Inkwell’s corner. See the homes for sale, or schedule a private tour and see the café downstairs.