A friend recently gifted me Robert Mastin’s newly published book, Liberty Call: When Newport Was Home to the Atlantic Fleet. As an enthusiastic student of local history — and someone raised in a military family — I read every word.
Much has been written about Newport’s Colonial and Gilded Age eras. Far less has been explored about its mid-20th-century chapter — before and after the closing of the Quonset Navy facilities. I was gratified that a local entrepreneur with deep Navy roots took the time to illuminate what he calls the “steamy side of Newport when it was a rowdy sailor town.”
Putting two and two together (“Light dawns on Marblehead!”), I realized the author — who prefers Bob — was also the founder of the beloved Custom House Coffee in Middletown. Bob graciously sat down with me to share more of his story. For auld lang syne, I’ll attempt to connect his journey to the deeper history of coffee roasting and coffee houses in America — and especially Newport.
Cover of Liberty Call book, photo Michele Gallagher
U.S. Naval Academy Midshipman, Engineer, Entrepreneur
A California native born into a Navy family, Bob first arrive in Newport in 1970 as a midshipman with the U.S. Naval Academy. In 1972, his ship, the USS Joseph Hewes, pulled into Narragansett Bay after a six-month deployment in Vietnam. Newport became his first home port.
He retired from the Navy in 1978 and ultimately made Newport his adopted home with his wife, Liz. In 1985, with a business partner, he founded Narragansett Engineering. He also pursued a publishing career before deciding that entrepreneurship suited him best.
Enter coffee roasting.
From Engineer to Coffee Roasting Impresario
Bob explains:
“I was working out of a small retail complex I had built in Middletown when the town was still very rural. We never had a solid anchor tenant and there had been quite a bit of turnover. It was time to open a business that would check two boxes: serve as an anchor and be something I would enjoy. The only business that fit was an upscale coffeehouse.”
Knowing how competitive the industry could be, he made roasting beans central to the business model.
“Custom House Coffee would be second to no one in quality and freshness.”
At the time, there were only a handful of books on the coffee trade. Bob bought and read them all. He traveled to Coffee Fest in Seattle, visited shops across the city, and met Stephen Diedrich, founder of Diedrich Manufacturing. Bob purchased a Diedrich IR-12 roaster and later trained directly under Diedrich in Sandpoint, Idaho.
More than two decades later, Custom House still uses the roast profiles and techniques Bob learned there, and expert tips he learned from world-class baristas.
Photo courtesy of Custom House Coffee
A Short History of Coffee Houses in America
Colonial coffee houses emerged in the late 17th century as tavern-like hubs for business, news, and political debate. They were often called “penny universities” — for the penny paid for a cup and conversation.
Establishments such as Boston’s Green Dragon Tavern hosted radical discussions; the Sons of Liberty famously met in their basement. Coffee sellers were licensed by the Crown, and in 1670 Dorothy Jones of Boston became the first licensed coffee trader in the colonies.
After the Tea Act of 1773 and the Boston Tea Party, drinking coffee became a political statement. Tea was boycotted as the preferred beverage of the Crown, and, as a result, coffeehouses flourished as centers of revolutionary conversation.
18th Century Line Engraving, Print by Granger Collection
Coffee and Black Labor in Colonial Newport
Coffee reached Newport through Caribbean trade, especially from plantations in Jamaica and other British sugar islands tied to the triangular trade. The crop, along with sugar, was produced largely by enslaved Africans.
In Newport, coffee was imported as raw green beans and roasted over open hearths in homes and small shops. The labor — roasting, grinding, brewing, and serving — was often performed by free and enslaved Black residents. The process was smoky and labor-intensive, requiring constant stirring in long-handled pans or rotating drums. Grinding was done by hand.
By the late 1700s, some merchants began roasting in larger batches to meet demand. The smell of roasting beans would have mixed with the dense waterfront air — overtaking some of the less pleasant odors of the port.
Coffee, served alongside rum and ale, was presented in fine imported china and polished silver in merchant homes — a symbol of refinement built upon a global system of trade and exploitation.
The Soul of a Coffeehouse
Like its colonial predecessors, Custom House Coffee understands that a coffeehouse is more than a beverage business.
Bob says:
“The soul of any coffeehouse is its staff. They need to work as a cohesive team and have one another’s backs. Our staff is like a family. I encourage everyone to have fun while they work and include customers in the banter. Most know the names and drinks of our regulars. We want everyone who walks in our door to have the best experience possible.”
Bob also remains committed to his military roots. Custom House’s Military Mondays attract veterans and active-duty service members, raising funds for Operation Stand Down Rhode Island, which supports veterans — particularly focused on housing.
Bob Mastin, photo by Michele Gallagher
From colonial hearth fires to a modern roaster in Middletown, Newport’s coffee story continues to blend commerce, community, and conversation — fueled, as ever, by the people who gather around a steaming cup to solve the world’s problems, or just maybe warm up with friends.
Signed copies of Bob’s book Liberty Call can be purchased at Custom House Coffee at 796 Aquidneck Avenue, Middletown, or at various booksellers.
Michele Gallagher isa dedicated advocate of local businesses, community leaders, and non-profits and is the founder of City-by-the-Sea Communications.