Boonton Coffee: Have You Bean There?

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Hidden along the strip of Boonton Main Street exists a hub for counter-culture ‘hipster’-branded millennials, deeply stressed high school students, and general coffee enthusiasts. My oasis: Boonton Coffee. In the era of commercialized and pre packaged convenience coffee through large chains like Starbucks and Dunkin,’ Boonton Coffee remains wonderfully ~quirky~ and independent of large corporate influence, and it’s reflected from the small book exchange at the front of the store to the quiet indie music drowning out the clicks of keyboards clacking and the hiss of the milk steamer.

However, Boonton Coffee is not only special for its interesting choice in wall art and 2014-esque mustache apron hanger, but for the escape and peace it provides me. During college applications and COVID, when I was staring at a wall praying for inspiration, I drove to Boonton Coffee, faced my fears of parallel parking, and then slowly sipped a large cold brew and wrote out an essay exploring how I interpreted the concept of “undefined.” When my WIFI was crashing during virtual school I quickly grabbed my keys and went to Boonton Coffee to use their always consistent and free connection.

I seem to have a never-ending list of memories associated with Boonton Coffee’s chai lattes with almond milk and vanilla (I forgive them for the two times they gave my lactose-intolerant self real milk) and the comfort it brings. When faced with the extreme emotional duress of coming to terms with the fact that I will be leaving the Mountaineer next year, I decided to take the incoming Editors-in-Chief to Boonton Coffee to both celebrate and offer any pearls of wisdom I’ve learned through my time here.

Boonton Coffee exists as a tiny point of escapism from suburban life into whatever world you want to transport yourself into, always accompanied by a beverage of your choice (I highly recommend the rose-lemonade). It has been a focal point of my high school experience, and is still the perfect place to people-watch, read, listen to music, frantically finish an assignment that was due an hour ago, or enjoy the simple pleasure of a cup of coffee.