Correction: This article was updated to correct Kathleen Mania-Casey’s last name and clarify that its location is South Main Street.
By Olivia DeWan, contributor
Grilled cheese has long earned a place amid the pantheon of comfort foods—a warm, melty bite of nostalgia. But for Kathleen Mania-Casey, it became something more.
As the owner and creative force behind Harrisonburg restaurant Grilled Cheese Mania, she transformed a simple sandwich into a thriving business, while aiming to serve up both flavor and community. Grilled Cheese Mania puts a twist on the classic comfort food by adding fire-roasted peppers or their house-made garlic butter.
“They’re not just grilled cheese sandwiches, they’re a little step up,” Mania-Casey said. “Everything is made from scratch. I make the base for my tomato soup and the roux for the mac and cheese, so everything is consistent and always the same.”
The business, which will celebrate its 13th anniversary in October from its inception, also has evolved over the years.
“I came to the Valley 14 years ago from New Jersey,” Mania-Casey said. “My late husband and I had a deli in New Jersey for many years, but I prayed and thought about opening another one in the Valley, and it just didn’t feel right.”
The answer came shortly after Mania-Casey’s brainstorming began. Her daughter, Emily Casey, and a family friend, Ben Hughes, suggested doing something with grilled cheese and tomato soup.
“When Ben mentioned grilled cheese, I thought ‘yeah let’s do it,’” Mania-Casey said. “We shook hands to be partners, and I started working on recipes.”
The idea was born on St. Patrick’s day 2012, and by Oct. 15, Mania-Casey and Hughes opened the first form of Grilled Cheese Mania: a food truck.
“It was a hit right from the beginning,” Mania-Casey said. “I think I had been doing so much talking about my recipes that people were aware of us before we were even open.”
Mania-Casey had relied on her neighbors and church friends to test out her grilled cheese recipes and provide honest feedback.
“We were in the food truck for five years,” Mania-Casey said. “People kept telling me to open a restaurant, and at first I just wanted our little space, but we outgrew it.”
Rapid changes in temperature made working in the food truck challenging. For example, when Mania-Casey would prepare the house-made macaroni and cheese, the food truck would get as hot as 100 degrees. In the winter, the pipes would freeze.
“We kept getting busier and busier, so we added a table, shed, and back porch and that’s when I finally decided that I needed some shelter,” Mania-Casey said. “I started looking around and then the house on South Main Street was up for rent, and we’ve been there ever since.”
Grilled Cheese Mania has now operated in the house on South Main Street for seven years.
“People really care about each other here,” Mania-Casey said. “I love that my business can be involved in the community because we support a lot of local life.”
Grilled Cheese Mania’s menu remains mostly the same and they incorporate seasonal sandwiches.
“I love when people say ‘this brings me back to when I was a kid’ or ‘this brings me back to my grandmother’s house,” Mania-Casey said. “That I feel like is a gift I can give them that I was blessed with.”
Mania-Casey said that the Harrisonburg community has made an impact on Grilled Cheese Mania, creating conversations about the restaurant walking through grocery stores or even on the street.
“I would love for somebody one day to franchise this,” Mania-Casey said. “All the processes are in place so someone could come in and franchise with us, or even for us.”
While she said she envisions expanding Grilled Cheese Mania, Mania-Casey never loses sight of the gratitude she feels for how far she’s come.
“When you’re grateful for what you have, you take care of it,” Mania-Casey said. “This is a gift from God, I didn’t walk in there and create this myself. I have been very, very blessed.”
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