Photos by Sneha Gaur
On any Sunday morning, a line of people snakes around the front of a small, wooden building just off of De Anza Boulevard. The building is easy to miss, with its faded yellow sign obscured by trees, but if you know what to look for, you can spot the black letters: Bobbi’s Coffee Shop. Just outside the cafe, a chorus of laughter and tinkling of glass bubbles through the open doors. As it nears closing time, the crowd drifts away, but sounds can still be heard from within the cafe. Owner Bill Dancer sits on a worn blue stool, crumbling crackers into his soup and employees flit about the kitchen, washing off smudges of grease from the plates and conversing with one another. Bobbi’s is thrumming with energy, with our without its customers.
Later renamed “Bobbie’s Cafe,” the popular breakfast stop has been a constant in Cupertino for the last 46 years, with residents coming back for the quintessential American style brunch. Dancer used to be one of these residents, visiting Bobbie’s with his mom, Janet, and over time, he established a rapport with the original owner. It wasn’t until the original owner confessed to financial troubles and offered the cafe to Dancer that his family took over. He never imagined owning a restaurant, but now, he loves working at Bobbie’s for the people — both the customers and the employees.
Father WIlliams, one of Dancer’s favorite customers, comes in every Sunday morning, never failing to give him a hard time. “Have you been behaving, my son,” Williams says, greeting Dancer. “You know better than that, Father,” he replies with a laugh.
To customers, Bobbie’s stands out from the other establishments in Cupertino because of its friendly atmosphere, where employees will pause to exchange small talk with the regulars. One of these regulars, Randy Dunn, has been visiting the cafe since 1998.
“Not every day,” Dunn said with a chuckle. “Just most days.”
As time went on, Dunn met other retired folks who’d frequent the cafe — former lawyers, doctors and engineers. Together, they’d sit at the countertop that spans the length of the cafe, just talking, usually about politics or the news. Eventually, they earned themselves the nickname “Counter Culture”. Now many of them have passed away or moved to other cities. Dunn is usually alone when he eats, but occasionally, he’ll run into someone from the disbanded group, and the conversation flows.
On Sundays, Dancer barely has time to talk, usually limiting himself to pleasantries; it’s one of Bobbie’s busiest days of the week with customers pouring in throughout the morning, and time is the staff’s greatest enemy. Yet his employees, who Dancer affectionately refers to as his brothers and sisters, are very helpful when it comes to managing the restaurant.
“They take tremendous pride in their work,” Dancer said. And so does Dancer, announcing the cafe’s four star rating on Yelp with a pleased smile.
And after each work day, they gather outside the cafe, shaking hands and congratulating each other on a job well done and another successful day.
While owning Bobbie’s was more of an unexpected, yet pleasant twist for Dancer, it had always been a dream of his mother’s, Janet, who eyed fast food franchises like KFC with longing. Even when she was working in the tech industry, she dreamed of owning a business. But her husband, Dancer’s father, objected. He didn’t want to risk the money that allowed him to take care of his family.
With Janet greeting customers up front, Bobbie’s maintains a pleasing atmosphere whose happiness is almost infectious. Sometimes, if a kid doesn’t want to finish their meal, she’ll promise them a lollipop as an incentive. But to Dancer, working with his mom is like doing anything else with her: he does what she tells him to.
But both agree with their decision to keep the cafe exactly the same. Besides replacing worn furniture and purchasing new equipment, Bobbie’s is exactly as it was under the first owner. And Cupertino residents couldn’t be more grateful for that.
“For the customers that have been here since the beginning, we kept the same employees and menu. It was remarkable how many people thanked us for keeping it the same,” Dancer said. “We felt good about bringing something back to the community because it could have been lost.