Next time you’re in the Sullivan Catskills, ask any local where to find the best wallpaper. Chances are, they’ll point you straight to 2 Queens Coffee on Narrowsburg’s Main Street — a couple of doors down from One Grand Books, around the corner from the laundromat and right across from a river view that stretches for miles.
“It’s a place of happiness,” say co-owners Martin Higgins and Charles Wilkin, “where you can also get a latte.”
“Welcome, darling, to the fiercest little coffee shop on the Delaware River. Pop in for the gorgeous lattes and stay for the wallpaper.”
Sun-drenched, color-splashed and forever queer-friendly, 2 Queens is pure joy — the kind that hits you the moment you step through the door. The floral-patterned walls bloom against soaring white ceilings. A disco ball, always lit, throws light across bright yellow couches. Rainbow umbrellas flutter outside on the sidewalk. And somewhere beneath it all, the smell of freshly roasted coffee and warm pastries does its quiet, irresistible work.
More Than a Café. It’s a Mood.
2 Queens is, at its heart, a place of intentional welcome — born from the kind of uncertainty that either breaks people or builds something remarkable. Martin and Charles moved from Ohio to New York City three months before September 11, 2001. They opened their Catskills coffee shop in 2019, just as a certain isolated virus decided it was time to go global.
“There’s something to be said about totally doubting what you’re doing and then going all in anyway.”
“In hindsight,” reflects Charles, “these really bad things gave us the opportunity to invent ourselves — along with a community that was ready for a change.”
But first: Ohio.
Martin & The Java Master
Martin’s story begins with a fluid-bed coffee roaster called the Java Master — kinda like the Thighmaster, only with coffee. It could nuke unroasted beans into a fresh cup in six to eight minutes. Needless to say, people didn’t want to wait that long for results. Martin pivoted.
Before long, he and a business partner had coffee shop locations in two malls and three libraries, one of which was at The Ohio State University. When that chapter ran its course, he moved into consulting, then returned to school to study public relations. Why not?
Somewhere along the way, he bumped into a color-filled personality named Charles.
Charles & The Bees
After growing up in Buffalo, Charles attended art school in Columbus and built a career in graphic design. When he and Martin set out for the city, they each did professional city things — Martin making people and companies look and sound good; Charles making the things those companies needed to look beautiful.
“We moved to NYC for our careers,” says Charles, “but it wasn’t long before we were looking for an escape. The Catskills became that escape.” In 2005, they bought a fixer-upper in the woods outside of Narrowsburg.
And naturally, as one does when moving upstate, Charles took up beekeeping. He got good at it quickly and before long was toting his hobby — in the form of local honey and pollinator-friendly teas — to the Callicoon Farmers Market.
“When we bought our home, more than half of Main Street in Narrowsburg was boarded up. But we still fell in love with the place — and so did a lot of others.”
“There was this maker and entrepreneurial vibe that was just under the dirt, starting to sprout up,” says Charles. “You couldn’t help but be inspired to do things.”
From Six Seats to a River View
From farmers markets, 2 Queens expanded in 2016 into an 800-square-foot building that was more Martin’s roasting laboratory than a café. By 2023, they’d outgrown it. When a space opened on Main Street — with a street window view of the Delaware River — they dove in.
“We went from six seats to 30 seats and a view,” says Martin, who is now President of the Narrowsburg Chamber of Commerce. “It’s crazy to think how much has happened in the last 10 to 15 years. We went from hoping it was all going to work to actively recruiting the businesses the community wanted.”
The one thing still missing from the Main Street ecosystem? A dog groomer. Charles is quick to point that out. That box, he notes, remains stubbornly unchecked.
A Place of Joy
Now, about that wallpaper. When they purchased their house in the woods, Charles had been desperate to put something bold on the walls — but a country home doesn’t quite lend itself to that kind of statement. A coffee shop on Main Street, however? That’s a different story.
“I love watching people’s eyes when they walk in for the first time,” says Charles. “It’s fun to see your heart and soul reflecting off genuine human reaction. We wanted 2 Queens to be a place where people feel safe — but also feel love and joy.”
According to the reviews, it worked.
“Delicious freshly roasted coffee, local honey and smiling faces await you. This is the sort of shop that would stand out in any city in the world. In Narrowsburg, it is nothing short of an oasis. — Lauren D., NYC”
The Cheddar Chive Scones don’t hurt, either. Nor does the Grizzly Bagel. Try one. They add taste to the space.
Coffee & Community
Twenty years in Sullivan County is easy to take for granted — especially when you can go paddleboarding at Big Eddy directly from your business at the end of the day. (They do.)
But Martin and Charles still savor what makes this place singular: the undiscovered, which remains very much alive in the Catskills. New businesses open every year, all carrying the same authentic grit that comes from people pouring their personality into the paint.
“Every restaurant menu is a reflection of the people who built it, but also a nod to the community they love and support,” says Charles. “It’s the same for shop décor.”
Sometimes all the way down to the sidewalk chalk out front. All of it real, welcoming and with just the right amount of personal whimsy. Kinda like a little café in Narrowsburg where people say you’ll find the best wallpaper in the Catskills.