Help us save Mike's Crunchies & Munchies

Hi, My name is Patti. My husband Mike and I own Mike's Crunchies & Munchies in Webster, MA. We are a Neighborhood Family restaurant. that specializes in Italian Hand tossed pizza and Calzones, and also offers a wide variety of other menu offerings including Seafood, our Smashed Burgers line, Wings and Tenders, along with a variety of Sandwiches, and our unique appetizer line. Whenever possible, we strive to approach our menu with a from-scratch-to-fruition approach, and our menu considerations are driven by our customers.

Both of us have worked as Food Service Directors for outsourcing corporations for many, many years. Our slogan of "No Boundaries, No Limits" was born after realizing, that we, in our professional careers, had no control over our menus or service approaches and we had long since realized that we had more to offer than only being treated as a number, and greatly underappreciated!

After Mike lost his Job in August of 2020 (several months into the onset of the Pandemic), we decided we could make a difference in our community by opening our Restaurant and serving the community. We began our journey, during the height of Covid 19, and our drive was that everyone deserved a reasonably priced high-quality entree that could be picked up and eaten at home. No restaurants were open for a sit-down meal during that time, and after working out of a food truck at first in various locations, we finally got a place of our own. Our vision was to offer "from scratch" meals in a family-friendly environment, where adults and kids could feel welcome. We were right! Since our storefront opening in May of 2021, we have had the pleasure of meeting so many wonderful people who frequent our place, and we welcome newcomers with open arms. We LOVE what we do!

However, in December of 2022, as the Christmas season was approaching, we had a terrible disaster. On our days off, there was a major water leak in the upstairs bathroom of our restaurant, which poured water from 2 open water lines for about 16 hours. The water destroyed the Parque flooring of our second-floor dining area, entered the ceiling through the flooring, and found its way to the 2 weakest points of the ceiling, directly over our cashier stand and our pizza station. This affected the walls, floors and unfortunately our equipment. We have had to demo the entire building and lost a lot of our equipment. 1 month later, we now have to start over and rebuild our lives which will take more time than originally planned.

As owners of the business, we are grateful for the Insurance that we have to take care of some of our losses, but unfortunately, not all. In the time we have been in business, Mike never took a salary from the restaurant. He felt as though it was more important to put the money back into the business by keeping our staff paid for, and driving the business that our customers had come to expect from us before we reap the benefits of owning a small business. I took a small salary that enabled us to pay our mortgage and personal bills, but any available money that we did have after the loss, was used to pay our staff, for helping us to clean up and prepare for the reconstruction phase of our venture. I have applied for unemployment, but have yet to receive it, nor do I know if I actually will.

Our dream is to bring Mike's Crunchies & Munchies back better than ever. We have such a huge amount of support from our valued customers ( Family) that it's both humbling and overwhelming. However, as our reality continues to set in, we can't help but question the feasibility of continuing with our dreams as planned. We are extremely passionate individuals, and our drive to deliver to our customers prevents us from wanting to find jobs elsewhere to support our household, but when sadness sets in - we are forced to look at that possibility.

Driving our social responsibility within our community became paramount to both Mike and me, and it allowed us to begin scratching the surface of ways to contribute locally. We teamed up with the "Slice out hunger" organization and hosted our first of several per-year events, where anyone could come in and get 2 slices of pizza for free. For the kiddos and aspiring young "Pizzalolos", we had several "learn to make pizza" events, and we hosted birthday parties in our upstairs dining room. A special treat that we offered to the birthday boy or girl, was to come downstairs with Mike to make their own pizza (even if the Birthday boy was turning 40). We found joy in hosting our seafood boil, and we had planned a Hot Wing challenge. We have found so much happiness and pleasure in treating everyone special that came into our establishment, that they were only customers on day one, and quickly became our family.

Help us to be able to come back stronger and more eager than ever to welcome everyone in. We are asking for your help. We have hired a public adjuster to work on our behalf with the insurance company, but throughout that process, we need donations to keep us afloat. Our pride is strong, and we wouldn't ask this if it weren't necessary.

Your donations will allow Mike and me to continue to pay our employees for their continued efforts during the remodel of Mike's Crunchies & Munchies. It will also allow us to keep up with our bills and God willing, not lose our home during this trying time. Thank you in advance for your support. Any donations above and beyond our expenses will allow us to restock our restaurant with the necessary equipment and supplies that we lost, and fully re-open as planned.

We are hopeful for our Grand re-opening in the spring of 2023, and to be better than ever!!!

God Bless!

.