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Becky Geisel, the owner and Executive Chef of the Califon restaurant, held a grand post-pandemic reopening of her restaurant on Mother's Day.
And there's more.
Geisel purchased two adjacent buildings, one a gallery space and the other comprising several apartments, to bring BEX Kitchen beyond its Main Street location.
BEX Kitchen will be using the space to hold corporate functions, birthday parties, or weddings, with the goal of reuniting the community after the COVID shutdown.
“What we're trying to do is get people to see each other face-to-face and have some entertainment or have something fun to do and eat good food or go for a bike ride or go for a walk," Geisel said. "So this area kind of lends itself to it.”
By next year, Geisel and her Assistant, Chris Callahan, hope to have a garden space at BEX to grow produce for the cafe and provide additional entertainment space for guests.
“We put lawn games out there,” she says. “We're going to do vegetable gardens and grow some of our own stuff in raised beds, and eventually we'll have our offices in the other building with an area for merchandise.”
Geisel, 52, is a self-taught chef and opened BEX Kitchen 12 years ago.
“My whole focus when I started BEX was just to make food from scratch with all whole food,” she tells Daily Voice.
“I know exactly what goes into every dish that we send out," she said. "That's what's most important to me and how it's prepared because we do everything from scratch.”
BEX Kitchen is a combination of Geisel's background in sociology and studies in macrobiotics, something she delved into during her mom's 18-month battle with late-stage breast cancer.
That's when Geisel started to understand the importance of nutrition, and quality food. She believes in being transparent about ingredients.
“I wouldn't label them gluten-free or vegan because back in 2006 nobody knew what it was,” she says. “They always thought it wouldn’t taste good."
"We just kind of approached it like, ‘Oh, try this salad,’ or, ‘Try this bar,’ and I'd be like, ‘Oh, by the way, it's gluten-free and vegan.’ They'd be like, ‘what?’ So I've been really true to myself and the food the whole time.”
The menu, which has been revamped, boasts a variety of eggs — from quiches to frittatas; sandwiches — such as steak and artichoke and Persian eggplant wrap. BEX Kitchen has ricotta pancakes, a beet, millet, and kale salad.
The cafe has scones, croissants, muffins, and a quinoa bar.
Water quality is just as important as the food at BEX Kitchen, Geisel explains, which is in part why upgrades have been made to the cafe's water system.
She installed a new reverse osmosis water system at BEX Kitchen.
“Water is a big thing for me. One of the charities I work with all the time is Raritan Headwaters, and they've been a not-for-profit for 60-plus years," Geisel said. "I'm a true proponent of clean water because you can't have clean food without clean water.”
While Geisel stands by each and every dish on her carefully-curated menu, she can’t help but recommend the avocado toast — a dish she makes for herself each morning.
“I smash my own avocados; we have great eggs, and I use an organic sourdough bread, and it's just perfect for the morning to get started."
You can also find Bex’s diet-friendly delectables at Black River Roasters in Whitehouse Station. She says she hopes to package and sell BEX’s products at other coffee houses as the brand continues to grow.
Geisel describes BEX’s brand-building strategy as “little tiny steps forward.”
“I've been doing this for 12 years, and it hasn't happened overnight,” she says. "There's definitely a clear vision and I think we've made good moves toward the future to build the community and the brand."
Follow BEX Kitchen on Facebook and Instagram for more updates.
BEX Kitchen, 52 Main St., Califon, NJ
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