Something New is Brewing

The Marco Island Brewery has been a popular gathering spot for locals and visitors since its opening in 2010. Today, the sports bar-gastro also represents a dream come true for its new owner, Charles Muntwyler III.

A long-time Marco resident and restaurateur, Muntwyler, known as C.J. to one and all, was a partner with principal owner, Michael Jones, who purchased the Brewery in 2018 from Frank LaCava. Effective June 1, he became the sole owner after buying out the corporation.

For Muntwyler, who began working in restaurants as a teenager, the purchase is much more than a business transaction. It’s a point of pride for several reasons, one being becoming a restaurant owner in an upscale market, such as Marco, at only 35 years of age.

“I'm excited for the opportunity to have this bar,” he said. “My childhood dream was always to be an entrepreneur, as my father was before me and his dad before him. I'm not going to say a restaurant was my dream, but owning my own business was. I moved here from Chicago when I was 15 and started working in restaurants. My original goal was to build airplanes. Moving here, getting into the restaurant business was just kind of the industry that was around, you know.”

He began bussing tables at the Sandbar 20 years ago, eventually becoming a manager there as an adult. That sparked a desire to someday own his own bar-restaurant. In 2017, he helped spearhead the opening of the now-closed Mario’s on Bald Eagle Drive.

He said becoming sole owner “was something Mike Jones and I had discussed prior to us getting into business together and it's cool to see the realization of this dream become a reality.”

The business is now a family affair with C.J.’s wife Danielle joining him in operating the Brewery. She has experience as a server during her teenage and college years and gained management skills at her previous job as a nurse leader at a fertility center.

“This isn't something that I really saw myself doing,” she said of managing a bar-restaurant. “My husband's been here for a while, but obviously, I'm coming into something that I don't know too much about, so it's nerve-racking for me. But I'm super excited to be a part of it and to do it as a family. I think it’s most important to make it a really good family atmosphere where anybody can come in and feel comfortable.”

C.J. echoed those sentiments about the family aspect of ownership.

“I have an opportunity to do it with my wife, which will be nice because we'll have something to build together for our family as a team,” he said. “It keeps us engaged at the dinner table. We have things to talk about: plans and dreams. It'll be a good life for both of us, a happy one where we see people and create an environment where they can enjoy themselves and feel like family and hopefully come back again.”

Jovana Novak has been a server at the Brewery for six months and praised the “good energy” environment there. The Muntwyler’s ownership has only heightened her positive feelings.

“I believe they can make things even better,” she said. I'm excited because of C.J. and Danielle. I think two of them bring a lot to the table and I'm excited about that.”

Regarding the future, C.J. said he and his wife have a lot of plans and ambitions, including a host of new menu items they plan to introduce.

“We're just looking forward to both being onsite owners every day, knowing the names of our customers, maintaining the food quality that we would expect if we went out to eat, and creating fun cocktails that people want to come try and enjoy,” he added.

C.J. closed with an analogy fitting for the owner of a sports bar.

“You know, being a busboy was t-ball, and serving and expediting was grammar school. Bartending is high school and managing is college,” he said. “Now I'm in the pros. This is where you work harder than you ever have. This is where you make it permanent. Essentially, this is where you're remembered. Things you do from here on, whether it be moving into several restaurants with this template or just making this a staple on Marco Island that's known for the next 30 years, whichever direction it might take us, we’re looking forward to the ride and the opportunity to do it with family.”

Marco Island Brewery is located at 1089 N. Collier Boulevard, Unit 427, in Marco Town Center. For more information, please visit marcoislandbrewery.com/ or call 970-0461.