Small business profile: Papa Murphy’s

Williamsburg is known for having a wide variety of stores and restaurants.  Something new can be found at every corner. Papa Murphy’s, located at Monticello Marketplace, is one of the many unique food places Williamsburg has to offer. At Papa Murphy’s they are “Fresh Fanatics,” their stores do not have freezers, they make their dough from scratch, grate 100% whole-milk mozzarella every day, and hand slice their vegetables. Papa Murphy’s states on their website, “Every Papa Murphy’s pizza is built to perfection with exactly what you want. You select the type of fresh dough and your favorite toppings. We make your pizza by hand in a matter of minutes. Then you take it home, pop it in the oven, and serve it fresh to your family. That’s what we call Love at 425°.”

Monica and David Chapman brought this fresh pizzeria to Williamsburg

because they “absolutely loved the product” when they lived in Washington State. They also stated, “We recognized there was nothing like it in our area, we reached out to Papa Murphy’s and found there was an opportunity to open one here, so we leaped on it!” as reason for their inspiration of opening the store.

Monica and David also shared their reason for being located in Williamsburg. “We really enjoy living in Williamsburg and have been here for 15 years.  Our children grew up here and we have made friends with many of the people here.  This has become our home. Also, we recognized this area was the perfect place to put our store, as our product demographic is really towards families, and Williamsburg is a real family oriented community.”

I also asked the duo if they had any funny stories to tell. They shared one they said they will never forget.  “During the first couple of weeks after we opened, this older gentleman came in and ordered several pizzas.  When he saw they were uncooked, he said ‘what, I have to cook these?  My wife is going to kill me!’.  I explained to him the fresh ingredients, and assured him they were going to be the best pizzas he ever had.  He begrudgingly said he would give them a try.  He has been one of our most loyal customers after that one try!”

The couple also pointed out a heartwarming thing about their establishment. “We take immense pride in providing back to the community.  We make earnest efforts in making sure we provide opportunities for the schools to earn money for the PTAs.  Last year we contributed over $5000 to them!  We welcome the chance to donate gift baskets to a multitude of worthwhile organizations in our community. We encourage and enjoy a family atmosphere with our crew members in our store.”

This insight of the people behind the scenes of Williamsburg’s Papa Murphy’s makes a trip to this store obligatory to anyone who enjoys fresh and delicious pizzas, made by humble and wonderful people.