Streets were packed on Beacon's east end of town for the Cupcake Festival 2018.Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth Martin — Streets were packed on Beacon's east end of town for the Cupcake Festival 2018.
*Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth Martin*

Did you reach the mecca? The Cupcake Festival? The east end of town was thick with cupcake celebrators, but in our journey to walk all of Main Street from the train to the mountain, we got to duck into a few favorite local businesses...

Luxe Optique (where we helped a friend buy some glasses!), American Gypsy Vintage while waiting for a to-go chicken wrap from Ziatun to eat on the way, NFP Studio (got a personal demonstration of how to wear their architecture-inspired sweaters!), Utensil Kitchenware (bought some nesting containers at last!), Jeffrey Terreson Fine Art (always love seeing that guy and he had a stunning, ginormous print on the floor ready for shipping out the door). And at last, we decorated this cupcake from Tops, and indulged in a generous chocolate cupcake with a lot of vanilla frosting from The Chocolate Studio. Alas, we ate it before the camera could capture a picture.

We Shopped at American Gypsy Vintage on the way down to the Cupcake Festival, while waiting for a takeout chicken wrap from Ziatun.Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth Martin — We Shopped at American Gypsy Vintage on the way down to the Cupcake Festival, while waiting for a takeout chicken wrap from Ziatun.
*Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth Martin*

How many cupcakes should you bring if you're a cupcake vendor? A lot. This is just a fraction - 1/279th - of the cupcakes that were for sale.Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth Martin — How many cupcakes should you bring if you're a cupcake vendor? A lot. This is just a fraction - 1/279th - of the cupcakes that were for sale.
*Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth Martin*

Finally Stopped into NFP Studio to experience the sweaters!Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth Martin — Finally Stopped into NFP Studio to experience the sweaters!
*Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth Martin*

During Last year's Cupcake Festival, no one ventured down to 1 East Main, which is literally Just down a grassy hill from the Happenin' Event. This year, Since Trax Coffee Roasters Has moved in, Cupcake Aficionados Were Happy to venture down the hil… — During Last year's Cupcake Festival, no one ventured down to 1 East Main, which is literally Just down a grassy hill from the Happenin' Event. This year, Since Trax Coffee Roasters Has moved in, Cupcake Aficionados Were Happy to venture down the hill.
*Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth Martin*

*Photo Credit: Trax Espresso Bar & Coffee Roasters*

It's an iconic Beacon experience: Wrapping up the day with coffee or beer on the patio, under tree branches strung with twinkling lights, or imbibing on a balmy afternoon as breezes gust through the outdoor tables of Bank Square Coffeehouse, set between the Hudson River and Mount Beacon. Being the first storefront on Main Street off of 9D (aka Wolcott Ave.), up the hill from the train station, Bank Square's location is prime. Main Street parades often begin there, and overall, the coffee shop is an easy landmark when people are meeting up or discussing something going on in town.

The Bank Square Coffeehouse experience is partially responsible for the many happy walkers, diners and shoppers down on the West End of Beacon, toward the train station. Owners of boutiques, art galleries, and other shops down on the other end of town (aka the "East End") near the mountain continuously wish for more foot traffic, and think longingly of Bank Square. They had been overheard, wishing aloud: "If only we had a Bank Square down here..."

Two-Time Beacon Business Owners Open Second Coffeehouse on East End of Town

That dream came true when Trax Espresso Bar & Coffee Roasters opened in the newly renovated factory building at 1 East Main. Trax is the third business from Beacon business owners Buddy Behney and Katy Bell Behney. They own Bank Square Coffeehouse, which opened in 2009 in the longtime Muddy Cup space, and they can be found almost any day of the week across the street at their retail shop, Mountain Tops Outfitters, which opened in 2006. We reached out to Katy to learn more about the inspiration to open Trax.

ALBB: Had you considered opening a second location earlier?

Katy Bell Behney: "Yes, it’s always been in the back of our minds, whether it be in Beacon or a nearby town. We had been roasting more of our own beans. Having a new space gave us a new venue to do more of that. We hired our manager to help with the roasting: Kurt Balogh. We knew him from Coffee Labs, where we get our coffee for Bank Square. Kurt had worked for a roasting company down in Brooklyn, and was interested in working more with us. He lives in Yonkers and makes the commute up here to act as manager and roaster of Trax."

ALBB: Did any of the shop owners from the East End of town beg you to open up down there?

Katy Bell Behney: "We were approached about putting a coffee shop in there. We looked at the space, not thinking that we would. But once we saw the space, we fell in love with it. Seeing all of the activity going on at that end of town, we thought it would be an interesting opportunity to try a second location. We knew that they wanted a coffee shop there, so we figured we would give it a try. We were flattered that they approached us about it. That encouraged us."

Editor's Note! We dug a little deeper to find out who planted the seed in Katy and Buddy's mind, and learned that it was Charlotte Guernsey, another three-time Beacon business owner. Charlotte says: "Yes, it was me! I wanted their coffee and the foot traffic!" Charlotte owns Gatehouse Realty, the office of which is located on the East End of town, as well as Lambs Hill Bridal Boutique, located in the 1 East Main building with Trax, and also designed the wedding venue Lambs Hill on Mount Beacon.

ALBB: The decor is quite different from Bank Square - what was your thinking there?

Katy Bell Behney: "We wanted to make it a little simpler and stay true to the old building, with the beams that were already there. We wanted to play off of those. We have the old Tuck Tape Industries sign (more about Tuck here) that we salvaged a while back that we didn’t have a place for, and then we found this place. We also have an old billboard sign that came from a local shop. The bar in the window is used from the building next door - from the 1800s."

Parking is available on the side of Trax.Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth Martin — Parking is available on the side of Trax.
*Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth Martin*

ALBB: The logo of the train spike is interesting - who came up with it?

Katy Bell Behney: Credit goes to Buddy on the logo. He and his friend who is a designer came up with the logo. We wanted to play off of the location. Bank Square is called Bank Square because it’s located in the Bank Square part of town. Being on the tracks, we came up with the name Trax. We just thought it looked cool.