Back at the end of 2011, we first told you about plans for a new cafe across the street from the then-not-yet-started Bottom Dollar in Brewerytown. A year later, we checked back in on the space and discovered a totally redone exterior, and some degree of interior progress toward this new business coming to fruition. It wasn’t until a couple of weeks ago that iMunch, at the corner of 31st & Baltz, finally celebrated their grand opening.

In the past

A few months back

We poked our head inside this new cafe the other day and came away with the clear impression that the owners poured a ton of money into this space. Not only has the facade been totally renovated, but the interior contains a number of expensive new features like a commercial kitchen, flatscreen tv’s for menus, and a fancily decorated second floor accessible via an interior spiral staircase.

Downstairs

More tv's upstairs and a tiled wall

The menu includes standard cafe fare, with a collection of regular coffee and espresso drinks, along with breakfast sandwiches, lunch offerings, soups, salads, and pastries. The prices are perhaps a little on the dear side considering the location, but considering the high-end space they don’t seem unreasonable.

But the location is really the thing here which makes the owners so bold and makes us so concerned about the possibilities of success for this business. Though the supermarket is pretty much across the street, the sight lines from the Bottom Dollar parking lot are poor, meaning many shoppers may never realize that there’s a charming cafe across the street. Perhaps iMunch is counting on folks living in the Westrum development a block to the north, as well as all the additional new people moving into the neighborhood at this time. Still, we expect it will be a challenge for these guys in the next couple of years, with the possibility of big time success as the neighborhood continues to improve.

We’ll certainly be rooting for them.