Earlier this year, Emily Imgram and Doug Weiler set out to create a local sandwich shop, what the owners set out to be a fun and welcoming downtown location.
Weiler, a long-time friend of Imgram’s husband, had the idea for Münch on a trip to Harrisonburg, after his previous restaurant Willow, which featured a six-course menu, in Portland, Oregon, closed down. Weiler, who had experience as a chef, knew he wanted to create a restaurant downtown, but it wasn’t until Lola’s, a sandwich shop and deli, closed that they finally decided what kind of shop to create.
“I want everybody to feel like they could come here and either have lunch with their family, have lunch with their friends, or, sit on their laptop and get work done, and I want them to feel comfortable doing that,” Ingram said. “I was a teacher for a long time, but I kind of realized that there’s, like, a ceiling with teaching.”
She said there was less freedom as a teacher than there is now as a business owner, so when Weiler presented the idea to start Münch to her, she agreed.
“For me, teaching was, like, I love teaching, obviously, but it was really about community building,” Imgram said. “So, for me, teaching was really about community building, and I get to do that here. I get to welcome people in and I get to feed them and if we’re not super busy, I get to chat with them.”
Münch features a rotating menu, so the ingredients can stay in season and to try out new sandwich ideas. Chef Weiler creates interesting and creative sandwich options for the menu.
Imgram said, “Doug’s creativity and our changing menu makes it special because you can come in and you can get the same thing that you loved last time. Or you can try one of our limited-time offers.”
The most popular sandwich at Münch is the Dill Turkey sandwich, which consists of dill pickles, Havarti cheese, dill mayo, slaw and rye bread.
Ingram and Weiler said they wanted to ensure they use locally sourced ingredients for the recipes.
“Doug is very big on, like, fresh produce and local produce,” Imgram said. Imgram’s goal with the ingredients was to create a restaurant they would feel good taking their family and friends to.
She and Weiler “wanted it to be the highest quality food while still being affordable to everybody.”
After the owners decided they wanted to create a sandwich shop, they needed to get a location downtown and three other people were fighting for the space where Lola’s had been. Imgram and Weiler created a presentation to persuade the building owners to let them create Münch.
The building owners decided to give the space to Imgram and Weiler.
From there, it was just a lot of paperwork, filing with the IRS, and making sure they had all their “ducks in a row,” as Imgram put it. “The fun stuff was, like, doing construction and painting and decorating and, kind of making it our own,” said Imgram. Once that was finished, they had to start hiring their staff, and training them.“It was a learning experience for me, because I’ve never done it before,” Imgram said.
Since the shop opened in February, Imgram said it has been a challenge to balance work and time with her five children, children who, overall, “have definitely helped.”
“It is sometimes hard to find the balance, and sometimes I feel like I’m not the best mom. I try really hard and I pour it all into my family. I feel like I’m not giving my all here, but I’m finding the balance and Doug is super helpful with finding that.”
Being a college town has some benefits and some disadvantages for Münch. It can make it harder to have year-round employees because the students leave over the summer, but the students also provide customers and publicity to the store.
Imgram said she hopes to advertise more during the school year, “the hope is that when they come back in August, they’ll know who we are.”
Advertising and spreading the word can be a challenge for a local restaurant. Münch’s advertising is social media posts that Imgram’s 14-year-old son Jackson helps her out with. Imgram also wants to do more paid advertising in the future to help spread the word with JMU students.
“Some advice I would give to a person trying to start a new business is go for it. Honestly, this is probably the scariest thing I’ve ever done,” Ingram said. “When I was teaching, I knew every month I was going to get a paycheck. I had benefits, I had health insurance, I had all of the things, and I was very comfortable.”
When Ingram wanted to own a business, it was a big jump from being a teacher.
“So when I decided I wanted to start a business it was terrifying. But this is amazing. The sky is the limit. Even though it’s really, really scary and really hard work, it will pay off and just follow your dreams and believe that you can do it. And find people who are gonna support you, no matter what.”
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