A bohemian flair permeates Charley, a cozy new neighborhood spot in Harrison, New Jersey. Drawing upon Viennese coffee house traditions, the concept transports guests into the community dives of another place and time. “The reason the French bistro is such a popular format is that it’s an easy day-to-night experience,” says Max Cutler, creative director at Charley. “We want Charley to be the beginning and end of your day. Newcomers should feel like they’re experiencing food in a new way, and for those that have been here before, it should feel like coming home.”
A sunlit eight-seat bar adorned with light blue tiling initiates a journey into European café culture. Charley’s interiors nod to the Jugendstil and Werkstatte design movements via details like custom carpeting and floral wallpaper in the main dining room. Homages to Bauhaus style and Hungarian painter László Moholy-Nagy also manifest in the bold primary colors and geometric forms of the tiled patio and fireplace.
A poster wall clad with both local and European iconography serves as a novel focal point that recalls the community billboards of Vienna and “evokes the restaurant’s transcontinental influences and layers of culture and history,” Cutler says. “The restaurant beautifully showcases a journey through time as the different design elements and influences blend together in the space. This would occur naturally in a Viennese Kaffeehaus as the architecture, design, and interiors were addressed at different times.”
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