What’s this charming Medford cafe doing in an old ice rink?

The first thing you notice about Sidebar Cafe in Medford is the cute, hand-drawn bird logo adorning the signage, and the fresh flowers and decorative pumpkins that signal the season. A menu board calls out Tandem coffee and MEM tea, an array of hearty sandwiches and leafy salads, and housemade baked goods like banana bread and muffins. The smell of warm cookies hangs in the air. And then the horn sounds to call an end to practice, and dozens of dewy youth hockey players trudge up to the cafe window to place their orders. Because Sidebar Cafe is smack-dab inside an ice rink.

The lobby of the LoConte facility, a 1970s-era arena wedged among East Medford’s swirl of highways and big box stores, is standard-issue old-school rink: padded rubber floor, long benches for tying skates, and smudged display cases crammed with old trophies, team photos, and award plaques (future NHL players Keith Tkachuk, Joe Sacco, and Shawn Bates once skated there). The cafe sits off to the side, and visible inside the tidy 300-square-foot kitchen’s workspace is more evidence of its indie, neighborly vibe: bottles of vanilla extract and extra-virgin olive oil, ripe tomatoes and fresh mozzarella for piling on Iggy’s sourdough — and Jennie MacPherson, the bubbly proprietor.

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MacPherson, who lives in Medford, was immersed in food service culture before she was old enough to drive, checking coats at the Wareham restaurant where her mother worked as the G.M. “I liked being part of the team…I absolutely loved the fast pace and really appreciated how the staff took care of each other,” she recounts.

The hospitality bug stuck with her through high school, college, and grad school years, and eventually landed her managerial roles at places like Commonwealth Market & Restaurant, Revival Cafe & Kitchen, and Sarma. Along the way she began imagining a space of her own where she could feed and interact with her community. A place where she could express what hospitality means to her.

When the LoConte location became available a few years ago, she jumped. (The cafe opened in September of 2025.) Her two kids skate there for Medford Youth Hockey teams and the rink’s seasonal schedule (open October through March) meant that she could spend summers with her family.

The cafe’s venue also presented MacPherson with an opportunity to offer something rarely seen in youth sports venues: homemade, nutritious food and drinks. Skaters hustling to and from pre-dawn hockey practice, and locals popping in for public ice time, usually make do with vending machine snacks and prefab concessions. MacPherson knew she couldn’t run a rinkside foodstand without classics like Super Pretzels, popcorn, hot dogs, and Richie’s Slush, but even her typical rink fare is leveled up: The popcorn is popped in Italian extra-virgin olive oil, and slices of pizza are fresh-baked from Winter Hill Bakery in Somerville. Whipped cream is available for topping off hot chocolate, and there’s oat milk for coffee if you want it. But it’s her from-scratch fare and approachable warmth that draw lines at the counter — including neighborhood regulars who have no connection to the rink.

“As a parent who spends a lot of their time in ice rinks, I was convinced that other parents wanted the same thing I did,” she said. “Healthy, high-quality food and beverages.”

In the mornings, MacPherson moves a considerable amount of made-to-order egg sandwiches, plus specials like avocado toast with whipped cottage cheese. Later in the day, she introduces Greek salad with pickled red onions and crispy chickpeas; grilled cheese oozing with sharp cheddar and muenster; and seasonal, veggie-packed wraps with optional za’atar-roasted chicken breast. Pumpkin-ginger muffins have rotated in for the season, and lots of chocolate-toffee-chunk cookies topped with Maldon salt are passed over the counter.

“We try to do a little something for everyone,” she says, “keeping allergies and dietary restrictions in mind, including gluten-free and vegan options.”

As we chat, MacPherson’s son, rosy-cheeked and fresh off the ice, comes over to the cafe window for a cookie. I ask her if having her kids around the cafe is an intentional reflection of her own childhood in and around the restaurant world.

“It’s not really intentional, it’s more the reality of the hospitality business,” she says. “It’s crazy and unpredictable. I love having my kids in this space, though, because they are learning things when they help out. I teach them about sanitation and handling cash; most kids don’t learn how to count back change anymore. And they have to talk to and engage with people, instead of sitting there on their tablet or phone.”

Even with the cafe’s seasonal schedule and limited hours (evenings Monday through Wednesday, mornings and evenings Saturday, and Sunday mornings), it’s a lot of work for one person. But as she hustles between the register and food stations in the kitchen, MacPherson’s good cheer and natural conversation with a diverse crew of rink parents highlight her knack for this work.

“My ‘super power’ has always been my ability to connect with people,” she says. “I have always liked to ask questions and listen, and learn more about people, and find something we have in common. That gives us a starting point to build off of. What could be just transactional becomes something more when you feel welcome and seen. Sometimes people want more than just coffee and a snack, they want a conversation, or your advice on something. There are different levels to those interactions, and I appreciate them all.”

She adds: “I do feel like there are times when I’m making a big difference to people, and that’s something that really fuels me. Hopefully I’m making people’s experience at the rink a little brighter and a little more fun.”

Sidebar Cafe (inside LoConte Ice Rink), 97 Locust St., Medford, https://www.instagram.com/sidebar_medford/. Sandwiches and salads $5-$11, classic concessions $2.50-$6.50, baked goods $3-$3.74, beverages $2.80-$4