“Café Java kind of transcends these walls. It’s an attitude. It’s an Austin, Texas attitude that we have here,” said Café Java owner Matt Lacey.
It's an attitude Matt Lacey says is all about family.
”All three of my children were raised by and large in this restaurant,” Lacey added.
Back in 1996, Matt and his wife Eva opened up Cafe Java, turning their dream a reality.
Matt added, ”20 years later I guess you can still say we’re living the dream.”
At the neighborhood bistro, fraternity trumps all, a feeling Matt says stems from serving 20 years in the Air Force as an aircraft mechanic.
Lacey added, “The military teaches you teamwork more than anything else.”
He's carried over what he learned serving our nation into the way he runs his cafe.
”We say here, ‘it’s not the best bunch of individuals that go to the Super Bowl. It’s the best team that goes to the Super Bowl’,” said the owner.
And invites his customers to do the same.
Matt added, “A lot of regulars at my Round Rock Café were Air Force pilots and have brought us flags that they’ve carried with them on their missions and stuff.”
This January, as the Lacey's celebrate 20 years of business, they won't be alone.
Alongside them, their given family who all work at the diner, including Matt's children, siblings and 80-year-old mother.
”She’s a hoot to work with; everyone calls her Grandma,” Matt added.
And, their chosen family.
”Each and every day I come to work and I’m surrounded by people that are smiling. Guests are smiling. Our wait staff is smiling. Cooks are happy,” Lacey added.
Employee Andrea Nickelson added, “I feel like I got adopted by a family more than I got a job.”
This New Year's Eve, when the clock strikes midnight, the Café Java clan will be cheering to the next 20.
”I’m having fun, when I quit having fun, I’ll quit,” Matt concluded.