Café Culture

The cafe is an important part of not only American but world culture. 

Smaller in scale than a restaurant but larger than a hot dog stand, the cafe provides an opportunity for take-out or dine-in and is often the site of a community’s nexus, its beating heart. Beyond nourishment, they provide a place for socialization, news-sharing, the arts and humanities, and a place where people can sit, think, and just be. They have even been the subject of serious and semi-serious anthropological study, for those looking for insight into sociology, psychology, economics, and culture. 

What is a Bex?

Chef Becky began Bex with humble origins and like so many entrepreneurial enterprises that gained steam and traction: out of her house. As a new mother, she began catering with her baby strapped to her. An event for Ralph Lauren put her on the catering map, and she was off. The Bex cafe on Main Street in Califon NJ, came later, a location that Chef Becky once frequented in her youth! 

The Biography of a Place 

“It’s an old, semi-historic building,” the Chef informs. “It has some history and is battle-worn. It also seems to have a resident ghost, whom we call Hannah.” New workers are sometimes intimidated by the basement. “Yeah,” the Chef laughs, “it has a bit of a Silence of the Lambs basement. The east coast is like that since other parts of the country don’t always have the basement feature. My building is near the Raritan River and a tributary that flows into it, so flooding becomes a worry in the rainy season, but the building was built to last, like things of old. This building has sure seen some stories, including a fire in the attic and Mafiosos eating at the cafe, close to the door and backs to the wall, of course.” 

A Place for People 

“To be honest, the cafe is not always profitable, but I understand that it provides a value beyond profit: it provides a place for the community, which some communities lack,” the Chef reveals. “People are products of their environment, and we associate our sense of self with locations, buildings, and experiences at places. I was raised in the 1970s by more than just my nuclear family, by the whole community, so I like to give back.” The Chef has a circular life story, like so many of us, leaving home and then returning. “Growing up, I very much wanted to get out of small-town America and see the bigger picture,” she recounts. “So I did that. New York City. Russia. Germany. The American Deep South. But I found my way back to Hunterdon County and Califon.” The Chef has kept up with technology and rapid change in the last twenty or so years but worries a little about how much time people spend online. “I remember things by smell, sound, face-to-face interaction. The online world is great, but it lacks smell, touch, and the live, in-person element,” she notes. Cafes are great places to engage all of your senses and to be present. 

Come on Down

Bex is a place for all. We are dog, kid, bicyclist, and biker-friendly. Who knows who you’ll run into? Cafes have been the sites of artists making art, world problem-solving discussions, philosophers, and romantics. In a world that seems to live sometimes more online than in person, come to a cafe with character, history, and ambiance. We look forward to serving you. 

Please note the cafe will be closed Thursday and Friday, August 10 and 11 in order to give the Chef a much-needed break. She will recharge her batteries so she can go onward and upward!