Photo by Ellen Ferrera
Open again is Bethany Cafe, John Vander Burgh is one of ten new owners.

•July 10, 2019•
By Ellen Ferrera
for the News Progress

All over America in small towns such as Bethany there is usually a diner or café where townsfolk, especially seniors, gather to exchange news of the day, gossip, have a meal or engage in what my Southern Grandma called “jist visitin”.
This “jist visitin” in the local diner has bound small communities together for centuries.
When the Bethany Café closed last November followed by the closing of the only grocery store in town, John Vander Burgh and others saw a vital part of their community slipping away. He reasoned that it could be saved if a group of like-minded individuals would all contribute a small amount to the purchase of the café.
He approached 10 people who have, anonymously, invested in the acquisition of the Café.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.