By Scott Cronick
Surf Road Coffee Bar & Beach Bowls may be the first business for the Perfetti family.
But there is nothing new about their coffee-making skills.
The Perfettis – Adam and Jenna, along with their sons Cole and Alex – opened Surf Road in a former Greek restaurant in Historic Smithville Village in Galloway in the spring. Sure, they had to learn how to buy equipment, renovate a building down to its studs, put together a menu and a business plan, but one thing they didn’t have to learn is how to roast coffee.
That’s because Adam has been roasting coffee for more than 30 years and “has been a staple of the Smithville Village community for three generations.” He carefully selects and roasts Surf Road’s beans – coffees and espresso – to ensure that each cup of coffee is a unique and satisfying experience for both your body and mind.”
As the name implies, Surf Road Coffee Bar & Beach Bowls just isn’t about coffee. The shop, which features takeout windows and adjacent outdoor seating, seems like the perfect addition to the Village, and a recent weekday showed regulars and newbies grabbing a cup of Joe or a smoothie or acai bowl along with some fresh-baked goods before they continued their stroll through the shops.
Surf Road offers a healthy menu full of everything from smoothies to acai bowls. But there is little doubt the coffee is the main attraction.
“Adam has been roasting in Smithville for the past 37 or 38 years,” Jenna said. “We had talked about this concept for several years. We spoke about acai and a healthy alternative. We weren’t aiming to go vegan and vegetarian, but there is nothing like that in that area. And when this became available, we thought it would be phenomenal opportunity. My husband had been involved in a family business for many, many years (in Smithville), so this presented an opportunity … and our sons spearheaded this. When we went to Historic Smithville (owners) and asked if they would be interested in something that looked like a coffee bar with acai and fresh fruit, and they loved the idea and were extremely supportive of it.”
A family affair
Jenna, a business-to-business sales representative, is the matriarch steering the ship. Adam is the coffee genius. Alex is a Stockton graduate who majored in Computer Science. And Cole is a graduate of the Academy of the Culinary Arts in Mays Landing, where he excelled. But he was torn between cooking, which he loved, and art, which he loved more.
So, after getting the business started in April – Cole was instrumental in building out the space from an equipment side of things and devising the original menu – he decided to go to school for art in Rhode Island, and his culinary creations now come when he is in town or conversing long distance with his family.
“Cole went to culinary school because of COVID. Cole’s dream was to become an artist, and he’s at the Rhode Island School of Design pursuing his dream in the arts,” Alex said. “The culinary arts were a big draw to him because it was something to channel his creativity into. And he’s really amazing at that. He has everything down technically and also has a bunch of wonderful ideas. So, him helping with all of that allows me to come up with my own ideas.”
Because of Cole’s decision, a two-brother operation was left to Alex, who is the face of the business, the family member you will most likely see when you visit Surf Road, and his love for his new profession is just obvious in every word he says and every move he makes, including bringing fresh ingredients and a cutting board to be on the radio because he wanted to make three acai bowls the best they could be made.
“I wasn’t sure about going into the tech industry, and I really like caffeine, so having a café makes great access to a constant supply of caffeine” Alex said. “I realized because of COVID that I didn’t want to be stuck inside at a desk all of the time. So, when this opportunity came, I thought it would be a great idea. We have been in the food industry our entire lives, so we know about food and taste combinations, and having my brother there open it helped me understand the culinary and restaurant side. I took a crash course, essentially.”
That crash course turned into a blessing for the Perfettis, allowing Cole to pursue the arts and freeing Adam and Jenna to do their things while Alex manages the café and also gets creative with the food and beverages, as well.
Now, about that coffee
When it comes to good coffee, it’s going to be difficult to find much better in South Jersey than Surf Road.
“It’s single-origin, and we typically serve our Beach House Blend, which is Colombian, Sumatran and Costa Rican,” Jenn said. “And then we have flavored coffees, varietals and blends of those. Each week we switch up our coffee flavors, and then we have all of the traditional coffee drinks you would make with espresso — cappuccinos, lattes, macchiatos.”
All of the coffees are roasted in small batches, and the beans come from a Staten Island, N.Y., broker who hand picks plantations to import from all over the world, from Peru to Ethiopia.
While the base coffee is excellent, people still love their flavored coffee drinks. Surf Road’s No. 1 seller is likely their caramel iced latte, but Alex loves to be experimental, too.
“I bring in flavors all of the time,” he said. “I brought in a popcorn syrup to make a kettle corn latte, and it was very bizarre. It was interesting to drink a latte that tasted like kettle corn.”
In other words, Surf Road isn’t snobby about their coffee.
“I like trying different things, and I want to offer a lot of different options for people,” Alex said. “If someone asks for XYZ drink, if I have no idea what it is, I will look it up and make it for you. If you ask for something that is an espresso-based drink, and I have the ingredients to make it, I will make whatever you ask for.”
Surf Road also offers a variety of teas, hot chocolate and more, but one of the things that caught them by surprise is cold foam, which features heavy cream mixed with flavoring and then put in the frother and on top of an iced beverage typically.
“Cold foam has been wild,” Alex said. “I am not someone who normally would get lattes — I usually do straight shots of espresso — and I never thought of cold foam. People requested it, and it’s been big.” and people put on cold brew or iced lattes
More than just coffee
Surf Road is becoming known for its acai bowls and other bowls nearly as much as their coffee.
Part of the reason is that they use a soft-serve granita machine, which isn’t very common at most coffeehouses.
“It makes it go from a smoothie base to more like a gelato,” Alex said.
“It’s special,” Jenna added. “It’s extremely high in antioxidants. Acai bowls became really popular, especially in the surfing community. They are a great way to replace — after a morning of surfing — the nutrients you need in a really heathy fashion. Most places don’t have it. A lot use a blender technique with a packet and almond milk. But this gives it a great texture and experience.”
“It’s better than being in the water all day and coming back and eating a bunch of candy bars and not feeling great afterwards,” Alex said.
With fresh fruit from B.F. Mazzeo in Northfield, there are about a dozen bowls on the menu, counting seasonal creations. That fresh fruit is also used to make smoothies.
Bowls include the Red, Green and Gold – a Cole creation – with strawberries, kiwi, banana, hemp seeds and honey.; and the Tropic Thunder with pineapple, coconut, mang, coconut flakes and honey.
Alex has enjoyed creating some bowls for the fall, including the Jersey Devil Bowl with honey crisp apples, pineapple, craisins and hot honey; and the Autumn Harvest Bowl with apples, craisins, blueberries, crushed pecans, cinnamon and caramel sauce, which quickly became Surf Road’s No. 1 bowl.
“It tastes like fall,” said Alex, who is working on a holiday season concoction featuring oranges and cloves.
Surf Road also offers fresh-baked goods from Poppy’s Bagels & More in Galloway, including a variety of scones, muffins and homemade pop tarts that Jenna has nicknamed Poppy Tarts in flavors ranging from strawberry to Nutella to brown sugar cinnamon.
“Their muffins are absolutely fantastic,” Alex said. “There are some days people get to see the strawberry muffins, but usually I wind up eating them.”
There’s also cookies from All That Batter in Egg Harbor City, and Surf Road will soon carry Poppy’s bagels and cream cheeses.
What’s down the road?
If you’re wondering why a coffeeshop in the middle of Smithville is named Surf Road, it’s in homage to their favorite place to spend as a family.
“My husband is a surfer, both of my children spent time in the water, and one of the most iconic roads in Ocean City is Surf Road, and we wanted to give a little nod to Ocean City and our local background,” Jenna said. “We also didn’t want to pigeonhole this into something because we would love to expand, and Surf Road fits the vibe and has a real nice feel to it.”
With the first business launched and others in the planning stages, the Perfettis have seemed to find a nice niche. They also found a great home in Smithville, where they will soon offer everything from music to movie nights.
“We love it here and are extremely happy,” Jenna said. “The local community has really embraced us.”
Surf Road Coffee Bar & Beach Bowls is located at 3 N. New York Road, Galloway, at Historic Smithville Village. They are open daily at 8 a.m. You can order their coffee online for pickup at the shop. Or, you can buy their coffee at Makers Market Co Op by Big Red Homestead on Jimmie Leeds Road and Poppy’s Bagels & More, both in Galloway. Call 609-377-8879 or go to SurfRoadCoffeeBar.com
