HomeNEWSMunchies on Madison: Good Eats, For Cheap, Down the Street

Munchies on Madison: Good Eats, For Cheap, Down the Street

By CONOR SHEA

Features Editor

 

Jon Nelson isn’t your typical “small” business owner. He isn’t opening his fourth restaurant, and he isn’t in it just to make a buck. Nelson instead just opened his first restaurant, Munchies on Madison, Jan. 6 of this year, and is in the game to bring great food to Albany locals.

Nelson, who is part owner and general manager of Munchies, took time out of his shift to talk about his love of good food and bringing that food to others.

The storefront, located at 848 Madison Ave, resides in an area dominated by small, locally- owned eateries.

Despite this, the competition was seemingly not on Nelson’s mind when choosing the location, as when asked why Madison Ave., he relied with a simple “College kids,” laughing.

After agreeing to talk more about Munchies, he requests to speak in the kitchen to give his customers privacy, and in the process makes sure to point out the lack of frozen burger patties or produce.

“Everything’s fresh, never frozen, except for the ice cream,” he joked, as he finished serving two patrons.

Nelson is a local of Albany County, hailing from East Greenbush, and attended LaSalle School.

While Nelson may not have a formal education in culinary arts, he believes his food-centric background is more than enough.

“I’ve been cooking for 20 years, and my mother was a chef, so I grew up in the kitchen,” he said, regarding his love of food.

And his love of the kitchen certainly shines through in the Munchies’ diverse selection of foods like cornbread pancakes, fried dough with jam, and a French toast burger with a fried egg on top.

On the potential of the business being hurt by the winter weather, he commented that their business is fairly steady, and slowly increasing with more exposure.

He then went on to describe the planned new additions they will be making to the building later this spring.

“We’re going to put in a walk- up window for ice cream, we’ll turn the soft serve machine on, and start up jumbo cotton candies.”

In addition to offering more food choices, Munchies plans to add a table out front for additional seating, as their current arrangement includes only two tables and four chairs.

That isn’t all the business has planned for the future, as Nelson also mentioned that they are looking to start a loyalties and rewards card for frequent customers, as well as fifty percent off purchases for all first responders (police officers, firefighters, and EMTs).

They also offer a reward for any and all patrons, where every $10 purchase earns them a free cupcake. However, potential customers should keep in mind that reaching the $10 minimum might be harder than it seems, as Nelson pointed out “[Hot dogs are] just 85 cents, so you could get three of those, french fries and a soda for under five bucks.”

Knowing that a good percentage of their clientele are college students, Munchies looked into potentially integrating student ID cards into their accepted methods of payment.

“We’re looking at taking the U-Albany [ID] cards. We also contacted Saint Rose, but they don’t do any outside dining. I guess the students have to contact the student ID office and request it, and if they get enough requests they’ll start it back up.”

Munchies also offers free delivery, which Nelson thinks is a selling point in light of the recent weather. He further mentioned that surprisingly, a recent popular purchase has been ice cream sundaes, most of which were delivered to local students.

What makes Munchies even more unique than other food joints is their willingness to whip up anything you want, ingredients permitting.

“We already have a good arrangement of items [on our menu]. But, if you don’t see something on there that you want, and if you see the ingredients on there to make it, we’ll make it for you,” said Nelson.

“I’ll fry you ice cream if you want, or I’ll make you fried macaroni and cheese. If we have the ingredients to make it, we absolutely will,” he went on, smiling.

When asked if he had anything to say directly to the Saint Rose student body, he said simply, “Come try the food and enjoy it!”

“We’re here for you guys really, and honestly we’ll make whatever we can if we have the ingredients. And if not, and they give me far enough notice, I’ll pick the stuff up, and I’ll make it for them,” he further explained.

It’s possible that other restaurants in the area might have a similar “request-it-and-we’ll-make-it” policy, but Nelson seemed to want to make their policy a known and actionable bonus, rather than a secret feature.

Munchies recently added their restaurant to Grub Hub (a website which allows patrons to order online), and potentially could be working on a website soon as well.

Even with the planned additions to Munchies not yet being implemented, they are carving a name out for themselves in the community.

Their food is sourced from local vendors, always fresh, and they understand the food needs of a typical college student. Anyone looking for comfort food on the cheap, need only look down Madison Ave. for Munchies on Madison.

Saint Rose students looking to see the Munchies menu, or some of the newest specials should visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/MunchiesOnMadison2014.

 

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