IsaMira is the product of owner Debra Petitclerc’s longtime love for cooking. After a cooking demonstration during a field trip in junior high school, she was mesmerized by the makings of a taco salad. She was so excited, she made it at home, and then started cooking whenever she could. She pursued every cooking class available at her junior and high schools.

Petitclerc has owned several businesses — a health club, a gift shop — and helped her husband manage a dental practice, but in the back of her mind she hoped some day she would be a caterer. When her husband became blind in a car crash and could no longer practice, Petitclerc found her opportunity by accident. Her husband was looking into consulting and was perusing Gig Harbor’s spaces for lease when they ran across the listing for a former downtown restaurant. Visiting the location, she saw through the window that all the equipment was still in the building. “I thought the opportunity has presented itself,” she said.

IsaMira — named after two of her daughters’ middle names, Isabelle and Mirabelle — was first conceived as a gourmet cheese shop. Petitclerc had visited a gourmet cheese shop in Seattle and really liked it, but saw many unexplored opportunities at that shop that she thought she could implement at her own. While she does sell a great variety of gourmet cheeses, she decided she would have to expand her offerings to make the business viable.

Starting out with lunch and some breakfast items, she soon expanded the breakfast menu — and eventually added dinner. To keep up with the theme, cheese is incorporated into every menu item except for the vegetarian sandwiches that are designed for vegans. The business also offers catering, which is the focus especially during the slow late fall and winter months.

Making it through the winter season when tourism slows down is the most challenging aspect for the business. Last year, the challenge was compounded when a fire destroyed several dozen boats at a nearby marina. Petitclerc had to stay closed for two weeks — while the downtown swarmed with tourists! — and had to replace a big part of her supplies such as coffee cups, cheeses, and storage containers. The money she had saved to weather through the slow months was instead spent on getting the business back up and running. She has still not gotten reimbursed by her insurance.

Despite these kinds of challenges, Petitclerc has opened her heart to the community. She organized a free Thanksgiving dinner at the café for the past two years, and anyone was invited. Originally, she took on the expenses of the feast upon herself and solicited some donations; when the community heard about the undertaking, volunteers, cash and food donations poured in. From the high school wrestling team to the local historical society, Petitclerc has embraced the opportunity to give back. “This is how I am,” she answers the question of why.

Petitclerc says her business has grown a lot since she opened it, and she has received a lot of support from her customers. In turn, she rewards them as well — every day someone wins a free lunch, and birthday celebrants get complimentary desserts.

She keeps the business in the family. Her helpers are primarily family members, including oldest daughter, who is the assistant manager and runs the diner in the morning. Even the menu is reminder of how much her daughters are important to her: The menu items use their names, Alena, Olivia and Bri-Anne.

Eventually, Petitclerc hopes to expand her catering side. In the meantime, she keeps looking for ways to attract more customers to her dog-friendly café (dogs are welcome on the deck and get their own treats). “We’ve been told we’re the best-kept secret in town,” she said. “I don’t want to be a secret.”.