Jessie Watnes, one of the co-owners of GourMelt along with Haley Wood, stands in front of the newly opened storefront near UNR.
Jessie Henderson and Haley Moseley, Reno restaurant owners, got their start as business owners selling gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches out of their mobile food truck called GourMelt.
After several years of focusing on their Midtown breakfast restaurant Two Chicks, they have brought the business back as a brick-and-mortar location. GourMelt Grilled Cheese Shop opened this past August just west of the University of Nevada, Reno campus at 101 University Terrace.
Henderson and Moseley originally opened GourMelt Grilled Cheese Truck back in 2011.
At the time, they had wanted to open the business as a brick-and-mortar shop but the recession and lack of financing prevented them from doing so. Henderson and Moseley were able to purchase the food truck with a loan from family. They became pioneers of the food truck scene and operated the mobile business for four years.
They later sold the food truck, which now operates as Tahoe Tenderloins in Carson City. In August 2014, the two entrepreneurs opened Two Chicks.
However, they were not ready to abandon GourMelt’s business concept.
“We had never really accepted the idea of GourMelt being done,” Henderson said.
Over the past couple of years, they looked at several different locations to open GourMelt. They found this location through one of their cooks at Two Chicks who was looking at commercial spaces to start their own business venture.
Henderson and Moseley thought the location offered a great opportunity for the GourMelt shop.
“I love it,” Henderson said about the location. She explained that her first job was at Archie’s so being in this location feels “like home.”
The 500-square-foot bright yellow eatery was previously the garage of the house next door, which their landlord had converted into a commercial space.
GourMelt opened for business on August 22.
“It is like the truck is parked here,” Henderson said.
GourMelt offers 17 different types of gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches along with a secret menu. They work to use fresh local ingredients including bread from Great Basin Brewing Company.
“We try to do as much local as possible,” Henderson said.
They currently have six employees at GourMelt and are looking to hire an additional employee.
Henderson and Moseley celebrated the two-year anniversary since the opening of Two Chicks in August. The restaurant currently has 28 employees.
However, this may be just the beginning for both Two Chicks and GourMelt. According to Henderson, they envision opening more locations for both businesses in the future.
“I can see us opening another one of both of them,” Henderson said.
GourMelt is open Monday through Saturday between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. They are closed on Sundays. For more information about the business, visit http://gourmeltnv.com/ or call 775-501-5250.
