Photo by Ed Waters, Jr. Allison McGaw and Minda Merwin Metz, owner, create bakery items every day for The Buzz in the Green Valley Shopping Center in Monrovia. Purchase this photo

The Buzz, at the Green Valley Shopping Center, offers an extensive selection of bakery items, fresh bread, coffees, breakfast items, ice cream and more.

Merwin Metz, assisted by Allison McGraw, create bakery items every day. The breads are from Stonehearth Bakery in Frederick .

Merwin Metz has been in the food industry for years and has owned or managed food-related businesses.

In the 1980s, she was the personal chef for Ralph Lauren and his family.

"I lived in Telluride (Colo.) and then Manhattan," Merwin Metz said. Although it was glamorous and interesting, being on call 24 hours a day and the fast-paced lifestyle left her burned out.

Born in New York, Merwin Metz traveled a lot growing up as her father worked for General Electric. She had family in this area and came to Montgomery County to work for O'Brien's Pit Barbecue. Later she was with two restaurants in Rockville and catered for Red, Hot and Blue in Gaithersburg.

In the 1990s, she was with Crescent City, a Restaurant in Alexandria, Va.

"I then managed Knife and Fork Catering in Rockville for 10 years. It was very high end catering," she said.

Merwin Metz said her dream had been to have a small cafe, part of the community, a "real neighborhood" place. That came about when the owners of Cool Dip, an ice cream shop in the Green Valley Shopping Center, decided to leave the business.

"The ice cream was already here, so that brings in the kids," Merwin Metz said, "and I'm very big on kids. We can do sundaes and it works well with the baked items."

Her father, Merwin Metz said, had hoped she would become an attorney, but she learned to love the restaurant business, gaining insight on how to both make great food and to provide service.

"Service is the key to success. I came from an era when your service was your success. I think the recession may be waking some businesses up to realize that if you don't provide service, people will go somewhere else," Merwin Metz said.

McGraw, who helps created baked goods and serves customers, is a 2005 graduate of Damascus High School. She graduated from Baltimore International College, where she learned culinary skills working at the Bay Atlantic Club, part of the college.

She was working at a restaurant after graduation when she applied to Merwin Metz at Knife and Fork. There were no openings at that time. When Merwin Metz began planning The Buzz, she hired McGraw.

Although open only a short time, The Buzz has brought in regular customers, Merwin Metz said, some as much as three times a day. "We offer sort of a brunch all day. We have breakfast items and daily specials, new sandwiches and different items," she said. "Baked items are sort of made on a whim." The coffee is Lavanzza.

Merwin Metz said she would like to eventually offer acoustic entertainment in the cafe. She already has a knitting group that meets there weekly and would like to have a Scrabble night.

"I'm very visual. When I go into a place, I like to see what is on the wall," Merwin Metz said. She decided that local student artwork would be precisely what was needed. So she went to Twin Ridge and talked with the art teacher and has colorful creations on her wall from the students. "I let the art teacher choose. I thought everything was great."

She plans to go to other schools in Mount Airy , New Market , Kemptown and such to get artwork from young students, again chosen by their teachers, to be put on the cafe walls on a rotating basis.

She also has decorative items from The Hive and Retro Metro in Mount Airy in the cafe. "I see this as a meeting place for Damascus, Mount Airy , New Market , the whole area," Merwin Metz said. She plans to support community and school groups.

Hours at The Buzz are 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.

"I think once people come in, they will come back," Merwin Metz said.