Cafe Profile: A Dream for Sale
Donna Matushak-Funk and her husband Bob have owned a small, award-winning coffee roastery in NJ for almost 11 years. Due to health issues, they need to sell it as soon as possible.
Some background – Donna was working as Technical Manager for The Associated Press in NYC when 9/11 hit. A little more than a year later, the stress was starting to get to her and the commute was wearing her down. Bob was working for Lucent Technologies and had a pretty solid job, so she decided to leave The AP and open her dream business. They cleaned out their retirement money and opened Moon Doggie Coffee Roasters in February 2005.
Fast forward a few months – Bob had a major health issue and ended up on permanent disability. Despite Bob not being able to go back to work for Lucent, he was able to help out at Moon Doggie by doing the roasting end of the business. Together they built Moon Doggie into an award-winning small business – while also doing fundraisers and donating 20% to 30% to basset hound rescue and cancer therapy dog organizations all over the U.S. – until March 2013.
Funny how coffee can do strange things – like “exploding” when it is ground right after being roasted. Yup! Bob had just finished roasting beans and a customer came in and wanted five pounds – ground. Donna put the beans in a bucket and started pouring them into the grinder; began the grinding, tamped the bucket down and whooooosh – it blew up right in her face. It took a minute or two to realize what had happened until the coughing started.
A week later Donna was still having trouble breathing, and thought she had developed bronchitis. Ten days after the accident, she could not breathe anymore and was rushed to the hospital where she spent two weeks recuperating from aspiration pneumonia. OSHA and the Poison Control Center got involved and their research showed there was only one other recorded instance of this happening.
Long story short – Donna has not been able to do much of anything since then due to permanent lung damage and after holding on for 3 years, it is time to sell to someone else with a dream.
Donna Matushak-Funk, President
Moon Doggie Coffee Roasters
www.MoonDoggieCoffee.com
Coffee “worth losing sleep over” (New York Times)
WINNER Best Coffeehouse (2010-2015 Best of Bergen Award – 201 Magazine)
WINNER Best Coffee (2008-2015 Bergen Health & Life Magazine – Reader’s Choice Award)
WINNER Best Internet Cafe (2010 Best of Bergen Award – 201 Magazine)
WINNER Best Espresso & Cappuccino (2008-2015 Bergen Health & Life Magazine – Reader’s Choice Award)
WINNER Best Smoothies (2010-2012 Bergen Health & Life Magazine – Reader’s Choice Award)
WINNER Top 5 Coffeehouses in Bergen County (Bergen Record)
