Nothing's dropped into Wendy Muir's lap except opportunity.
Muir has prepped, cooked, served and managed at many Ketchum restaurants.
Now, she owns.
The deal closed between Muir and Globus restaurant owners in May 2005.
"It was very nerve wracking," she said. "I didn't sleep for a few weeks."
Now, the Globus manager-turned-owner has made her place in the valley, solidifying a life that wasn't always a sure thing.
A native of southern Idaho, Muir was teaching second grade in Twin Falls in the mid-1980s.
"I had a really good friend in college, and she had been accepted to veterinary school," Muir said. "We decided for a summer we were going to go somewhere and play and have a good time. She stayed for a summer, and I never left."
Louie's Pizza Restaurant was Muir's first place of employment during that summer of 1986.
"It was a fun environment with a lot of young people," she said of Ketchum. "I just had a really good time. I love this area. That's what kind of kept me."
After year and a half at Louie's, Muir and a co-worker planned a trip across the world.
"She and I went to Australia and New Zealand for six weeks," Muir said, "and ended up staying five months."
She came back to Ketchum restaurants, then left to travel, then came back again.
"I met other people (here) that were kind of on the same page, not wanting to settle down yet, but wanting to see other places," she said.
While working as a manager at Christina's, Muir befriended a South African woman.
"That's when I decided to go to South Africa," she said. Six months and nine countries later, she returned.
"It's home to me," she said of Ketchum. "It's one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. Any time I've ever left, it always feels so good coming back."
When not working or indulging her wanderlust, Muir loves to get outdoors to ski or hike.
Juggling work with play wasn't the challenge for Muir that some people experience.
"It's never been hard for me because I manage my money very well," she said. "Definitely (back then) a lot of people had two jobs. I made enough money at the Pioneer. I didn't have to have two jobs."
Six years ago, Muir bought a condo in west Ketchum.
"I knew I was going to stay here at that point," she said. "I feel so fortunate to have that condo. (Without it) I'd be able to stay, but it's kind of pointless to just continue paying rent. It's much better being here knowing I don't have to move again unless I decide I have to."
Despite a love for the restaurant industry, Muir never let her teaching certification lapse.
In 1999, she was trying to decide if she wanted to stay in restaurants or go back to teaching. She got a job as a substitute teacher and took a night manager job at Globus to keep her days free.
The job turned out to offer more than she expected.
"The owners wanted to sell," she said. "The opportunity was presented. It was the right time. Everything fell into place."
Although she had managed that and other restaurants, the financial burden had never fallen to her.
"It was a big leap of faith," she said. "Taking all of that on by myself was just a huge, huge step."
"You have to have a knack for working in restaurants and not everyone has it," she added. "It takes patience and a little bit of insanity, maybe."
Besides her restaurant experience and money-management skills, she had one more attribute that would work in her favor.
"I'm a really strong person," she said. "I've always been able to rely on myself."
The Ketchum restaurant scene is a tough one, she admitted, due to its seasonal nature as well as the shift of full-time residents to the south valley.
"It makes it difficult," she said. But, "I have no regrets that I bought it. I'm really happy that I did. I love the restaurant business even though it's really insane."
Then she added: "I love being in the classroom, too."
In the next two years, she'll have to decide whether to let her certification expire or take a few classes to keep it current.
Even if she closes the classroom door for good, another opportunity is sure to come along.
And Muir will be right there to grab it.
Globus owner Wendy Muir stands in the restaurant she once managed and now owns. ?I have no regrets that I bought it,? she said. ?I?m really happy that I did.? Photo by David N. Seelig
