Revolutionary War hero Marquis de Lafayette made a much-celebrated stop at the James Pharmacy building in Old Saybrook in 1824. Picture his surprise if he were to wander in today and see the chic Italian coffee house now situated in it. The building’s latest incarnation as Caffe Marche (and its sister business, the James Pharmacy Bed & Breakfast) adds another chapter to its long history.

Among the highlights, the building served as the home and workplace of Anna Louise James, Connecticut's first black female pharmacist; Harlem Renaissance writer Ann Petry was born there; and Ms. Katharine Hepburn frequented the place when it was a soda fountain during her tenure as a Saybrook resident. And yet, Italian marble, modern tableware, and gold-chrome-eagle-topped cappuccino machine blend seamlessly into the building’s circa-1790 bones. The clean lines and elegant simplicity signal the nature of the cuisine patrons can expect.