SEQUIM — It’s not every day one of the biggest names in the Northwest pulls up in your drive-through.
Employees and regulars at Reddog Coffee Co., 521 S. Sequim Ave., are still buzzing about Seattle rapper Macklemore’s visit last week while visiting the Olympic Peninsula for a music video shoot.
“Lots of customers are still commenting about it,” Assistant Manager Kaylee Taylor said. “Our social media went through the roof. He blew it up.”
Macklemore, aka Ben Haggerty, is known for hits like “Thrift Shop” and “Downtown” with Ryan Lewis, and “Glorious” as a solo artist.
Cashier/runner Mazie Whitteker was the first to meet Macklemore as he pulled up on Oct. 19, with his wife Tricia and crew members, Taylor said. He posted the encounter on his Instagram page.
“Are you Macklemore?” she asked.
“I am,” he replied.
“This is literally so cool. Oh my God!” she said, covering her mouth, then asking about his order.
Taylor said Whitteker and the staff are “super fans” and all were “super ecstatic” about meeting him. When Taylor first heard about Macklemore being in line, she thought Whitteker meant “Mac,” a local dog that comes through the drive-through, too.
Once at the window, staff asked to take a picture with him, but he agreed only if he could come inside with them. Macklemore then took photos with Reddog staff and some customers.
Taylor said they were at the stand for about 30 minutes, and they ordered some drinks.
His video shows him drinking from two spritzers — a “Dumpster Fire” and “Purple Koosh” — which the staff told him “you’re gonna be so jacked.” His video shows him asleep two hours later.
Macklemore told the staff he was in the area shooting a music video with another Instagram video showing him going into cold water, presumably at Lake Crescent.
His new single “Faithful” is set to be available from music sites today.
Reddog owner Kyla Becker said she was on the phone with shop manager Jacq when he pulled up and was told, “I gotta go, call you back … Macklemore just pulled in.”
Becker said she tried calling back but couldn’t get through.
“It was awesome,” she said. “(I’m) so happy for my staff.”
In his video tagline, Macklemore wrote, “Still can’t believe I drank all that … I love Sequim and my new friendships.”
He also gave Reddog a 5-star Google review, Becker said.
For more about Macklemore, visit instagram.com/macklemore.
For more about Reddog Coffee, visit facebook.com/RedDogCoffee and instagram.com/reddogcoffee.
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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. Reach him at mnash@sequimgazette.com.
