09/05/2026
β οΈ Warning: this is a long post and contains a story. ππΈ
You can read if youβd like, or you can continue your scrolling journey, as you wish π«ΆπΌπ₯Ή
A week ago, on Saturday, August 29, we celebrated Munayβs Grand Opening.
And now that the excitement has settled just a little, Iβve been thinking about what this moment really means to my family and I.
Because Munay did not begin on August 29.
Munay began much, much earlier.
It started in 2019, in a little kitchen at home, with a few alfajores and a girl who simply loved baking. π₯Ή
Then came the βI want to learn moreβ moment.
The botijas.
The cakes.
The orders from friends and family.
The small and big orders.
The long days.
The mistakes.
The learning.
The people who kept coming back.
And little by little, that little dream grew.
What started as a pastry shop from home eventually found another chapter when my sister gave me the opportunity to share my baking at her restaurant as a full dessert display.
Then years later, life opened another door.
Karen, the previous owner of this beautiful place, gave us the opportunity to take over this space and, more importantly, she trusted us with her vision for its next chapter. It was her final decision to choose us, and that is something my family and I will always be grateful for.
That is how we arrived here.
As a pastry shop π₯Ή and later we added the cafΓ©. A new discovery and great fit in our name.
That has always been part of our story.
We brought with us some things that people already loved from the cafΓ© that was here before us, because we knew how special those things had become to this community. I chose those items with all my heart. If people missed them, I wanted to honor that.
Munay has its own heart.
Its own flavors.
Its own memories.
Its own culture.
Its own ideas.
Its own little quirks.
Its own future.
And that future is something we are still discovering.
Some of the things we have created are completely new. Some are inspired by PerΓΊ. Some come from memories of my childhood. Some come from recipes I have learned along the way. And some are familiar things that we decided to bring back because they felt right for Munay.
And there may be things we bring back someday.
There may also be things we never bring back.
And that is okay. πΈ
Because one of the most beautiful things about creating something of your own is that you get to grow with it.
You get to listen.
You get to learn.
You get to experiment.
You get to change.
And you get to decide when something is ready to become part of the story.
We hope that, little by little, Munay can become a place that creates new memories of its own.
And honestlyβ¦ seeing that already happen has been one of the greatest joys of this journey. π₯Ή
Watching people try our Peruvian style desserts for the first time.
Seeing someone recognize a flavor from PerΓΊ.
Hearing someone say, βI remember this!β
Watching people fall in love with a drink we created.
Seeing families sit together.
Seeing friends meet here.
Watching someone walk through the door simply because they heard about Munay and wanted to see what we are all about.
Those moments mean more to us than we can explain.
Because behind every pastry, every drink, every little detail, there is a piece of us.
There is family.
There are years of memories.
There are people who helped us along the way.
And there is a whole lot of love.
It is not simply a name.
It is not simply a cafΓ©.
It is not simply a pastry shop.
Munay is a love letter to PerΓΊ, to our family, to everything that brought us here, and to this new chapter we are creating together. π
So today, I just want to say thank you.
Thank you God.
Thank you to the people who bought my first cookies when I was baking from home.
Thank you to the people who ordered again and again. And to those who keep doing it.
Thank you to everyone who supported me when Munay was just an idea.
Thanks to my mom, my dad, my sister, my brother in law and my nieces.
Gracias familia π΅πͺπ΅π·πΊπΈπ²π½
Thank you to Las Milpas Family.
Thank you Baraboo friends and community.
Thank you Karen, Linda, Kay and Marissa.
Thank you to the people who have been here since day one.
And thank you to the people who just discovered us.
Whether youβve been with us for years or walked through our doors for the very first time last week, you are now part of the Munay story.
And that means everything to us. π₯Ήπ«ΆπΌ
We donβt know exactly what every chapter ahead will look like.
But we know thatβ¦
We are going to keep baking.
We are going to keep creating.
We are going to keep bringing pieces of PerΓΊ to Baraboo.
We are going to keep learning.
And most importantly, we are going to keep doing it with cariΓ±o y amor.
So here is to where we started.
Here is to everything we have learned.
Here is to the people who helped us get here.
And here is to everything Munay is still becoming. πΈ
From a little kitchen at homeβ¦
to our very own little pastry shop and cafe in Baraboo, Wisconsinβ¦
Thank you for growing with us.
With so much love,
Munay πΈ
