step inside
DUCK'S COTTAGE IS ABOUT… COFFEE
Owner Allen LeHew is the resident Cottage barista and java junkie. Prior
to opening Duck's Cottage, Allen spent two years preparing for the
venture- researching espresso machines, sizing up grinders, choosing
vendors and, above all, cupping coffee from roasters up and down the
East Coast. He finally selected, and Duck's Cottage is proud to serve,
coffee beans from a small roasting company in Lexington, Virginia. These
beans are of the highest quality and with weekly shipments, the freshness
of Duck's Cottage coffee is never in question.
Allen has chosen a wide variety of coffee beans from which he selects our
daily 'brews' and which can also be purchased for your home brewing
pleasure. Available in whole bean or ground to your liking, choose from custom
blends like the Village Blend, Duck's Cottage, Lightkeeper's
or Blackbeard's Blend. (Aarrgh! There's a cuppa joe wot puts
hair on yer chest, mate!) A global selection of varietals- Ethiopian, Costa
Rican and Malawi to name but a few- are also on hand as are delicately flavored
roasts like caramel, southern pecan and our #1 best selling coffee since
the day we opened- Coconut Crunch.
Our in-store drinks menu features traditional espresso based drinks- the
latte, cappuccino and mocha, as well as the Cottage Specialties- the Mucky
Duck, the Nutty Duck and the Swan. All drinks can be served hot or over crushed
ice and are available in decaffeinated versions. Unfortunately, despite our
best efforts and our customers demands, we do not have the technology to 'ship' our
delicious coffee drinks to you in a prudent and timely manner. Just another
reason why you'll have to visit us at the beach!!
DUCK'S COTTAGE IS ABOUT… BOOKS
Books for cooks, books for kids, books for sports fans, travel buffs, book
clubs and beach bums. We may be small in size, but our book selection runs
deep and wide. We pride ourselves on using all the tools at our fingertips
to maintain an eclectic, hand picked mix of fiction, non-fiction, cookery,
children's biographies, local and regional books to name just a few
of the genres you'll find on our shelves. You'll find that
Duck's Cottage is ALL about reading- for pleasure, for knowledge,
for self-improvement, for children, for anything! We have picked a few
of our more popular books to highlight on this site, but please feel free
to email or call us with any special requests you may have. We can order
almost any book out there (and we love a challenge!) and when you order
from Duck's Cottage you'll be supporting an Independent Bookstore.
Duck's Cottage is also a member of Booksense. Booksense is a division
of the American Bookseller's Association that was formed to help small,
Independent Bookstores compete with the box stores and mass merchandisers
which typically unfairly undercut us little guys. As a locally owned, independent
business, Duck's Cottage makes countless contributions to our Outer
Banks community in the form of jobs, wages, community events, charitable
donations and more. Last year alone, we contributed to the OBX Relay for
Life, the Advice 5 Cents Turkey Trot (a 5K held Thanksgiving Day), Kitty
Hawk Elementary School Fall Festival, Griggs Elementary School auction, Dare
Co. Artrageous, the Wright Flight program and more. By patronizing our site
and our store you avail yourself of a knowledgable, well read staff and can
feel good about supporting an Independent Bookseller.
THE DUCK'S COTTAGE READING GROUP
Our Reading Group meets on the fourth Wednesday of every month at 7:15 pm
at the Cottage. Composed of individuals of all ages and all walks of life,
our discussions are lively and our selections range from current bestsellers
to classics to short stories- there's no book we won't try!
We are always welcoming new members or weekly vacationers who have read
our selection!
Upcoming 2008 selections are
- February 27 - Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
- March 26 - Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits, Laila Lalami
- April 23 - River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze, Peter Hessler
- May 28 - A Thread of Grace, Mary Doria Russell
- June 25 - Canning Season, Polly Horvath
- July 23 - Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert
The Cottage is also happy to host your reading group for a change of venue from time to time! While we provide the atmosphere, coffee and fireplace, members are free to bring snacks, dessert or even wine. There is no charge and, with notice, we can have your group's next read on hand for purchase that night. Registered reading groups will receive 20% discounts on their monthly selections. Please contact us to arrange a special night for your reading group or to register with us for the discount!
