New owner making old bake shop pet-friendly

    Murphy – A local coffee shop is taking on a new name and welcoming more members of the family.
    Customers picking up lattes and cinnamon buns may have already noticed receipts say “Muttigans” instead of “The BakeShop,” and the baristas answering the phone say, “Muttigans.”
    Wendy Megyese, owner of Muttigans, purchased The BakeShop from Wayne Peacock and Eugene Apanasevich in mid-September. She plans to transform the downtown bakery into her third Muttigans location in the coming weeks.
    Megyese opened her first Muttigans location four years ago in Emerald Isle. It started as just a pet supply store, but she had customers asking if there was anywhere they could eat with their pets. After researching regulations, she learned she could offer that place to customers with a pet shop that doubled as a coffee shop.
    And it made sense – every morning, she starts her day with a cup of coffee as she spends time her dogs.
    “ ‘Paws and enjoy life’ is our motto,” Megyese said.
    Megyese owns a cabin in Marble. She has seen that Murphy mimics Emerald Isle – both are small towns with a seasonal influx – and thinks expanding here will work.
    “I think it will fit very well,” she said. “Regardless of where you go, people love their coffee and they love their dogs.”
    Megyese plans to cater to both locals and visitors. Her Emerald Isle location has become a destination place for those traveling with their dogs, and was even named one of America’s Coolest Pet Stores by Pets Plus magazine.
    “I hope to bring that to the community as well,” she said.
    While they focus on dogs, her other locations have seen families bring along cats on leashes, pot belly pigs, African grays and even a baby monkey. One location was recently visited by a baby hedgehog.
    Murphy is the smallest of her locations. Her flagship in Emerald Isle is 3,000 square feet and the Swansboro location is 2,000 square feet, while the new Murphy location is only 1,800 square feet.
    The shop will see small changes as it fully transitions into the Muttigans brand. The retail area will expand and begin to feature more items for pets, and water bowls will be added. There will also be gourmet dog cookies, eco-friendly toys and boutique items. The biggest change is that the shop will be more pet friendly, Megyese said.
    Another small change is special menu items with coffee drinks named after the people, pets and places important to the brand. Her stores include many items made in North Carolina, and she plans to include locally made items in the Murphy shop, as she has done in her others.
    “It makes each store unique,” Megyese said.
    Megyese said she moved here because she loves it. She wants to embrace what’s here, and bring what she has to offer to the community. There’s one thing she’s bringing from Murphy to other locations – a new drink. It will be Murphy’s Paws – a play on Murphy’s Law – with a mix of white chocolate and caramel.
    “My mission in life is to bring joy,” she said. “It just happens to be through coffee and dogs.”