Cratty Shack back in business

After closing its doors for less than a year, Cratty Shack in Colfax is back and open for business.

While the beloved shop will have a lot of the same favorites the community has come to know and love, many new changes and additions from new owner Gaudencio Munoz-Temich will move the business to even greater heights.

“I decided to re-open Cratty Shack because I like the community and how close everyone was,” Munoz-Temich said. “You don’t always get amazing opportunities like this every day and when you do you need to take them and run with them.”

Munoz-Temich, a 10-year native of Newton, is running the restaurant with his wife and two boys. The doors opened with a limited menu on Mother’s Day. Since then, the full menu has been put in to place with additional items be added frequently.

Cratty Shack closed for business in late-summer 2018 after owners John and Carmen Cratty  decided to sell the shop after four years behind the counter. It was a hope of the Cratty’s to keep an ice cream shop on the corner of State and Walnut streets, like there has been since the 1950s. Munoz-Temich is making that wish come true along with putting his own touch on the Colfax favorite.

The biggest changed Munoz-Temich is making involves the shop’s hours. Instead of being a seasonal destination, Cratty Shack will stay open year round. The new owner is also looking to add many new items to the menu to please any taste.

“We will be adding some more things to the current menus such as gyro sandwiches, ribeye steak standwiches, salads, sandwiches that come with homemade soup later in the summer and making combo meals and some punch cars for those that come often so we can reward their loyalties,” Munoz-Temich said. “We are also int eh works of being able to try to open for breakfast so the community has somewhere to go for breakfast. We have so many wonderful ideas that it’s just going to take time to get them all going.”

Along with expanding to year round service, the restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 12 to 9 p.m. Sunday.

“We will adjust the hours as needed to meet the business needs,” Munoz-Temich said. “As we are still new to the community and still learning the times that work best.”

While working to get the local favorite back open, Munoz-Temich said he and his family received a lot of support and encouragement along the way. He wanted to give his thanks to everyone who helped him along the way, “we wouldn’t be able to with without you.”

We want to continue to keep Cratty Shack in the community as we can tell how much it was loved and missed with it closed down.”

Since re-opening, Cratty Shack has expanded with a new dining space available to provide extra seating for those eating at the shop. Throughout their time owning the business they realized they needed a little bit more space. The Cratty’s, who were the previous owners, who were living in the attached apartment to the restaurant decided they wanted to move which created a golden opportunity.

“We would sit 25 to 30 and then I would be stuck,” Alisha said. “We jumped on it and we were like well we don’t need a one bedroom apartment lets make a bigger dinning room for our customers and our fans.”

Now, the addition is open and will allow not only for more customers to be able to come in and enjoy food but also other things like small parties or people who just want to come in and play cards can continue, which Alisha said is already happening but circled back to limited space.

“We would house a church group or a party and I couldn’t accomadate very many,” Alisha said.

The addition to the restaurant isn’t the only thing the owners are currently working on. They are trying to open up the menu to be more inclusive, specifically to those that may be gluten-free. Also, other things like pasta or specials of the day there is plenty more things to be added in the future.

“I want to tell the customers thank you very much for me I’m glad they like my food and they are very supportive. They are happy with my food so I am happy,” Gaudencio said.

Alisha added, “This isn’t doable without them, each and every one of them. This couldn’t have been a dream come true for him or I without our customers, our family, our friends. None of this would have been a reality without each and every one of them.”

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com