Coffee, tea, breakfast and sweet treats are on the menu at Maine Ocean Buzz Coffee House, which was opened by Margaret and John Randall in May.
The full-service coffee shop, on Route 1 at 564 Bath Road in Wiscasset, offers espresso drinks, hot and cold brewed coffee, and hot and iced tea, including chai. Margaret Randall is especially fond of a refreshing and pretty hibiscus flower tea.
Maine Ocean Buzz also serves breakfast and baked treats. John Randall makes breakfast wraps and sandwiches each morning, with flavor options including bacon and cheddar or mushroom and sausage. After a few months working with an outside baker, Margaret Randall gradually became the shop’s only baker, making cakes, scones, or whatever whim strikes her each day, she said.
The Randalls share other shop duties.
“He cooks, I clean. It’s a perfect duo,” said Margaret Randall.
The Randalls met in the British Virgin Islands in 2011, where John Randall was working at the time. Mutual friends introduced the pair and the couple went on to spend three years living on the island of Tortola before returning to Maine. The Randalls spent several years as snowbirds traveling back and forth between Florida and Maine homes.
During the summer seasons of 2018-2020, the Randalls operated the Anchor Bar & Grill in Georgetown. The couple bought property in Edgecomb in early 2020. As the COVID-19 pandemic and related challenges wore on, they let go of the Georgetown restaurant lease.
In 2024, the Randalls’ son Rhône joined the waitlist for The Center for Teaching and Learning. He entered his second year at the school this month.
Once they were year-round Maine residents again, Margaret Randall knew she wanted to start another business of her own. The Randalls wanted something simpler than a full restaurant. In December they leased the storefront on Bath Road.
“We kept driving by here, let’s try it,” Margaret Randall said.
She had some experience making espresso from her years as a restaurant server. Now she is having fun learning more and experimenting. She said it is almost like bartending drinks.
Maine Ocean Buzz makes espresso with three shots in a medium instead of two, since more coffee and less milk imparts a much better flavor, said John Randall.
The Randalls try to source as many local ingredients as possible. Their coffee comes from three Maine roasters: espresso by Camden’s Coffee on the Porch and Scarborough’s Claw Coffee Roasters while cold brew and iced coffees are from Swift River Roasters in Raymond.
“I had a coffee tasting and was going to pick one brand, but it was too hard,” Margaret Randall said.
She has started making syrups in house, such as lavender blueberry vanilla with lavender from the shop’s garden.
The Randalls plan to expand the shop’s offerings and hours, including evening full bar service. Maine Ocean Buzz hosted their first live music event featuring The Bank Mules jazz band on Aug. 2.
“Everyone’s very busy and life is stressful. We wanted to build a place where everyone felt welcome. Where the light shines on all,” Margaret Randall said.
That reasoning is why the Randalls adopted a lighthouse for the Maine Ocean Buzz logo, she said.
The shop hosts a large children’s play area. Visitors have expressed surprise, since that does not make any money.
“It’s not just ‘get a coffee’ and run out. Come in for an hour, grab a snack. We need more community,” said Margaret Randall.
For more information, find Maine Ocean Buzz Coffee House on Instagram or Facebook.