McCarthy’s Newsstand

— Coffee is watered down and tastes really bad
— Only take cash
— The donuts are satisfactory

Ugh. Bad selection of food and worse, it’s overpriced. $ 1 for a limp-​dick, day-​old, sweaty donut wrapped in Saran Wrap. Cash only, too. Why do they sell birthday cards? Makes no bloody sense. I wish whoever owns Diridon Station would cancel their lease and get a new shop in there, especially since there aren’t many places to get a quick bite near here.

It has really good FRESH popcorn (popping all day) and a big case of drinks (I found my often hard to locate bad-​for-​you favorite… Lime Diet Coke) as well as a good selestion of fountain drinks. I had a really sweet guy wait on me, Billy, a young father of two working a couple of jobs (including construction) to make his mark in the world. He takes his job, to serve customers with a smile, very seriously!

I was very happy to find this place as I had about an hour to spare before my train left. I was 4¢ short of having a pocket full of change and the nice guy working the counter stoked me! Good coffee and snacks, I would recommend them for sure.

Pros:
Has snack foods like candy sandwiches soda chips etc.
Has magazines and newspapers
Has souvenirs
Has a ATM
Cons:
Only Accepts cash
Everything is overpriced
Can not give you change without purchase

I’d give it 3.5, but being so small & having a few key items I’m rounding for this one!
They have several healthy food items like Mrs. Mays nut-​fruit-​seed bars (bom!!!), Healthy Heart baked goods, and a few key others. True not everything here is anti-​kill you friendly food, but they do have enough to suffice: D
You know what? i change my mind as per 2 paragraphs ago… yup mid-​review change alright… Honestly for the size and location of this stand, they deserve 4!
¢.10 for a bag, which was odd, but it was a really nice bag. The small, semi-​thick mil plastic with the wide handles. The white ones that are kind of smooth and shiny… na’mean? (and no, im not a biggot, the bag would be nice regardless of the color). Anyway you get the idea, those high-​quality bags you just don’t find unless you shop at Nordstrom or something like that… Yea the good stuff. not the cheap crap you get from wally world or a dollar store, oh no, we’re talking extra petroleum for these puppies — YEA BABY!!! Heavy mil!!!
Oooohhh, aahhhhhh…
(it was eventually used for trash as I had no great use for it. bye to my ¢.10 & oh so great bag of victory :-/​)
buy-​bye bag!!! BYE!!! We had good times together! (Ok, honestly just all of a few hrs but STILL, it was a GREAT bag!) I’ll see you again if i visit that crappy station! (Not likely i’ll visit that station again but I would buy another bag from the smiling lady behind the counter ;-D) But hopefully not the way I did this time! Like when Craptrak Train broke down for 3hrs and eventually stranded me in Union Station LA overnight O_​_​_​0 (Jerkfaces)
Btw my coffee sucked :-/​but not the bag!!!

McCarthy’s is a small newsstand convenience store in the Caltrain Dirdion station and they are fantastic for the early morning banana or bottle of water. They have candy, ice cream and even make milkshakes you can drink while sitting at their bar.
The service always seems to be friendly and upbeat and while there’s usually a small line it tends to most quickly with their checking speed. Sadly, they only take cash, but there’s an ATM about 3 feet away. It’s a great little shop for those ‘I’m starving!’ moments: D