Since opening in June, Oscar's has become a place for neighbors and dog walkers to grab a drip coffee or specialty drink on the go, said co-owner Garrett Harper.
Tucked away in a corner of the Horn Point Harbor Marina parking lot sits a green and white camping trailer.
It’s not an Eastport resident’s vacation camper. It’s Oscar’s Coffee, the newest coffee shop in Annapolis that operates out of a converted 1974 Shasta RV.
Since opening in June, the business has become a place for neighbors and dog walkers to grab a drip coffee or specialty drink on the go, said co-owner Garrett Harper.
Harper, originally from West Virginia, co-owns Oscar’s with Will Cunha, a Naval Academy graduate and Tennessee native, and Joshua Bruce and Lee Snead.
“We wanted to, first of all, be a good neighbor,” Harper said. “It was really about, let’s add something to the community that doesn’t exist right now.”
The coffee shop is named for Will and Garrett’s 7-year-old golden retriever, Oscar, whose portrait is painted on the side of the RV.
In addition to hot and cold offerings like tea, coffee and espresso the dog-friendly business offers pup-cups filled with whipped cream for customers’ furry companions. (Oscar has his fair share of the sweet treats when he visits the marina, his owner said.)
“People love to bring their dogs, bring their kids,” said Harper, who works in pharmaceuticals in his day job. “If they’re on a walk, especially on the weekends, people come and hang out for a while and then continue on their way.”
The coffee shop is open daily from 7 a.m. to noon at 105 Eastern Avenue. Last week, the owners launched mobile ordering, which can be found on their website: wheresoscar.com.
Oscar’s also sells baked goods like bagels and walking waffles and works with The Coastery, based in Pasadena, to offer gluten-free goodies.
For the holidays, Oscar’s has rolled out merchandise, including beanies and chai tea-scented candles, a collaboration with Annapolis Candle.
Harper and Cunha, who works for a private cybersecurity firm and as an adjunct professor at the Naval Academy, met Bruce and Snead while frequenting another popular Eastport business, Forward Brewing.
Bruce, an Anne Arundel native and a coffee connoisseur, curates Oscar’s menu. Snead, and his wife Katie, handle marketing, promotions and social media.
The idea for an RV-turned-coffee shop emerged nearly three years ago on New Year’s Eve. Harper and Cunha were sitting around a kitchen table with family when Cunha’s mom recalled childhood memories of touring the U.S. in a Shasta camper.
The iconic recreation vehicles, which ceased production in 2004 only to reemerge under new leadership six years later, were popularized in the decades after World War II because of their affordable price tag.
Harper and Cunha found a partly restored 1974 model in Pennsylvania and shipped the RV to a restoration company in Georgia to finish the job of retrofitting the nearly 50-year-old vehicle for a modern business.
The RV arrived in Annapolis this past spring, and the shop opened on June 12. Oscar’s employs about four baristas and will look to hire more next year, Harper said.
The past six months have been a whirlwind, Harper said, but the reception from the community has been more than the owners expected.
“We went into this not wanting to take over some market or make it this big splash,” Harper said. “It was just a way to be involved in the community, and it’s been nice that people have really embraced that.”
