A Port McNeill mother-daughter duo have picked up on a somewhat lapsed going concern in Port McNeill and reopened Mugz Coffee Shop which closed almost two years ago, as Mugz 2.0 in a fully renovated modern space.
The fledgling business owners have started up with gusto, hiring two bakers and two experienced baristas plus themselves. The muffins, scones, cookies and cinnamon buns are all made in house.
“I knew if I was going to do this, it needed to be right from the bottom up,” said Boni Sharpe, the mother half of the duo.
“We couldn’t just show up in the morning and put frozen goods in the oven.”
Eager customers have gobbled up the baked goods as fast as they come out of the oven, leaving Sharpe’s biggest challenge — aside from two power outages within as many weeks — to figure out how to bake more cinnamon buns.
Sharpe has owned and operated a variety of small business on the North Island before, and her daughter Kerrigan has wanted to operate a coffee shop for years.
“I have the age and the finances, and she has the youth and the endurance,” she quipped.
Mugz 2.0 has been at least two years in the making; the building needed extensive renovations and the Sharpe’s had a lot to learn about coffee.
Mugz 2.0 is open from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday down at the waterfront at 1597 Beach Drive, beside the post office.
Immediately behind Mugz is the Port McNeill Inn, currently being renovated after a hot water tank flooded three rooms. Owner Yani Dimitriou, who also owns the Sportman’s with his sister, is hoping to reopen the hotel this spring. Across the street, Devil’s Bath owners are getting ever closer to opening the North Island’s first brewery.
The waterfront is coming back to life, with or without social distancing.