Rasberry Moments, Munchies Cafe will expand food offerings on York Road
Two food entrepreneurs are getting ready to turn their kitchen dreams into tasty realities as they use state-funded Project Restore grants to renovate vacant storefronts on the York Road Corridor.
Within a matter of months Rita Thomas is expecting to open Rasberry Moments at 4646 York Road while Derrick Mondowney is putting the finishing touches on Munchies Cafe at 5911 York Road.
Thomas is expanding on her existing online Rasberry Moments operation, which focuses on catering, festivals and pop-up markets and specializes in a variety of foods including gourmet desserts and funnel cakes.
At her new cafe, she expects to offer a “broad range of foods, without being overwhelming,” she says.
“We’ll have a barista, with certain coffees and teas, with some fun, festive flavors,” she says. “We’ll also do fresh-fruit smoothies, and we’ll have acai bowls and more.” Over time the menu will expand to include “a variety of food options dabbling into cultural dishes and of course funnel cakes, some simple and specialty flavors.”
At Mondowney’s new business, “the menu is comfort food,” he says. “It’s all the things that my grandma, my mom, used to have for us. We have things like turkey wings. We have crab cakes, we have lamb chops, we have every kind of burger you can think of: turkey burger, steak burger, salmon burger, veggie burger, Beyond Meat burger. You name it. We got it.”
Project Restore is a program from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development that is funded with money from the American Rescue Plan Act, the 2021 COVID-response law.
“These two projects show exactly what the York Road Improvement District was created to do,” said Samuel Storey, Executive Director of the York Road Improvement District. “By helping direct state revitalization funds like Project Restore to local entrepreneurs, we’re not only filling long-vacant storefronts, but also supporting the kind of businesses that reflect and serve this community.”
In interviews both Thomas and Mondowney exude a passion for good food and describe their deep commitment to giving back.
The first thing that Thomas wants people to know about her new place is that “we’re providing wonderful services to the community,” she says. “We’re also looking to help and support and grow the community.”
Once her buildout is complete, her plan is to make some of her space available as a commercial kitchen for others in the food industry. “We’ll be able to provide space to maybe four other chefs,” she says. “Not only can they cook their products in there, they can actually sell them, too, if they want to put them on the menu.”
“I grew up in this neighborhood,” says Mondowney. “This community has always been real community, and I want my place to reflect that. I want it to be open and welcoming for everybody. On this menu I’ll try to hit a little somewhere for some of everybody.”
He is looking forward to creating jobs in the community, noting that he got his start in food service nearby–working at the old Polock Johnny’s by the intersection of Loch Raven Boulevard and Joppa Road.
“Where you start is where you want to rest,” he says. “So if I’m going to cruise out, I’m gonna do it right here.”
Rasberry Moments takes its name from a childhood memory of Thomas’s. “As a little girl, about 6- or 7-years-old, my mom gave me a red piece of candy,” she says. She fell in love with the raspberry flavor and with the name, at one point considering naming a child Rasberry.
“The name Rasberry stuck with me, and I always knew I was going to name something Rasberry.” When she started her business, “I thought about making people happy in those moments, and then I thought about Rasberry Moments, and now the slogan is, ‘Making Sweeter Memories.’”
Similarly Mondowney has reached back into his memories to name his restaurant. It was a family tradition for people to say they were off to “granny’s, to munch on granny’s food,” he says.
“So to me, Munchies signifies comfort,” he says. “It signifies fun. It signifies definitely good flavor. It signifies something that you definitely will eat a lot of–munchies.”
Now that marijuana is legal in Maryland, the Munchies name will undoubtedly resonate with certain demographics, especially students from nearby universities, which both Mondowney and Thomas are prepared to serve.
Thomas expects Rasberry Moments to have two or three tables and rely on a strong takeout business. The current plan calls for the cafe to be open Wednesday through Sunday from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Munchies will be open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. On Thursday, Friday and Saturday the kitchen will stay open till 2 a.m. but only for third-party deliveries. Mondowney expects to be able to seat about 16 people inside and has plans to expand to the patio space outside and eventually enclose it for all-weather use.
As their renovation work proceeds, both Thomas and Mondowney are clearly excited about what comes next.
“I just have so much passion for the food industry and serving others, and I’ve always wanted to own my own place,” Thomas says. “I’ve worked so hard to get to this point, and it’s amazing to see when your dream is actually about to come true.”
Mondwoney has an extra reason to be looking forward to his opening. In 2017 he had a stroke and has only been able to regain full use of his legs in the last few years. “God had another plan for me,” he says, and called him to get out of his wheelchair.
To give thanks for his recovery, Mondowney says he will open Munchies Cafe on Christmas and provide food free of charge.
“From the time the door opens until the time the door is closed, my point of sale system will not be on,” he says. He won’t be taking orders, but will offer food from his hot buffet line. “They’ll be able to get turkey, ham, chicken, duck–all that until it runs out. That’s my thank you.”