By Linda Tuccio-Koonz

Photo by Zandria Oliver

Marty’s Café serves everything from perfect paninis to savory salads, but frankly, the fresh-baked cinnamon rolls are reason enough to frequent this cozy eatery, now in its 17th year.

“Our menu changes seasonally. Almost all of our ingredients are sourced locally,” says G. Blane Withers, who co-owns the Washington Depot café with his husband, Stephen Lewis. Even the ice cream is local; it’s from Harry Rowe, of Prospect’s The Big Dipper.

“His chocolate ice cream is amazing,” Withers says. “He won’t tell me what the special ingredient is, and I respect that. He also does custom flavors. He’s done chai, a pineapple coconut, and another with espresso and caramel vanilla.”

Both co-owners have longstanding careers rooted in public service (Lewis, in hardware, and Withers, in marketing). “We put a lot of emphasis on customer satisfaction and exceeded expectations.”

Withers originally brought Marty’s to life as a tribute to his former husband, Martin O’Brien. They’d planned to run a café together, but O’Brien, a hotelier and chef, unexpectedly lost his battle with cancer in 2005, at age 47.

“I was a deer in headlights the first three years; food service was not my background,” Withers says. Even so, “It’s been a labor of love since day one. My customers are also my friends and neighbors.” 

Community in mind, Marty’s is increasing its hours as of Memorial Day weekend—closing at 8 pm rather than 5 pm, Fridays through Mondays. “We’re just going to keep the lights on and see what happens.”