Opening Weekend Recap

Overall I'd say we had a pretty rockin' time this weekend. Only major hiccup was our point of sale computer system which just did not want to cooperate. Otherwise everything went pretty well. We still have a long way to go. Expect:

• another 40 or so cheeses in the next couple of weeks
• house-made charcuterie
• a full line of sandwiches including our house cured pastrami and corned beef
• more grocery product
• other fun stuff (way to be vague!)

I want to give special thanks to all the Macalester folks that came out and visited the shop over the past couple of days and to all of the local business folks that have been talking us up the past few weeks. We are very, very excited to be part of the community.

Saint Paul Cheese Shop Day 1 PLUS Special Bonus Feature

Big thanks to everyone that came down to say hello to us today. We had a great day despite a hinky computer, lack of signage, and sparse product. The vibe was great and I think we're going to really dig the neighborhood. As long as I can resist the Jamba Juice next door I think it might all turn out okay.

SPECIAL BONUS

On Thursday night I returned to the store with a load of products. It was about 8pm and I noticed this sign taped to out door:
What the author of this note is referring to is that our cheese case is on tile but that there is visible tile at the front of the case. In other words, the case is not flush with our bamboo flooring.

As the note is anonymous I don't have a chance to address the author directly. But I thought it would be fun to use this blog as a way to answer the question. We might even start a tradition of random notes being left on our door. Who knows?

Well, the reason our case is situated set back from the bamboo is due to health code regulations. Simply, we had no choice. The cheese case has a cutting surface on it which is considered part of the kitchen and therefore the entirety of the cheese case must be on a food grade surface. I like this feature and encourage anyone walking by our shop (who happens to be carrying pen, paper, and tape!) to leave a question to be answered on the cheese blog.

Risen

Okay. After a marathon day of running around like a maniac it appears that I now have a second cheese shop on my hands. Not quite sure what to do with it, I guess we're going to have to sell some cheese.

We're not quite a fully operational battle station yet, but we're ready to sell some cheese and make a couple of sandwiches.

This is our soft opening period where we work out the bugs. Our sandwich menu won't fully be realized for another week or so but we will have a couple of items to sell.

I hope to see some familiar faces on the other side of the river so come by and visit and I can't wait to meet all the new folks and hear about their favorite cheeses.

Please be gentle.

Rising! Rising!

Yeah, I've been a bad blogger I know. To make up for it here are a couple of sneak peak pictures from the new shop in Saint Paul. Lots of folks have been poking their heads in the door to find out what we're up to. We're all fairly excited/afraid. If all goes according to plans we may even be open by this weekend. If so, it will be on the super down low. Anywho...

Thursday is my Wednesday

So I am out of here this weekend to NYC to check out some of the cheese shoppery in that part of the country. I hear they have a couple of okay ones.

You need to check out:

Raw sheep's milk cheeses from Star Thrower Farm in Glencoe, Minnesota. About as fresh and local as you can get. Funky and delicious.

Bug my staff about the farro and canaroli rice I just brought in. Think salads for summer picnics.

We're featuring our British cheeses this weekend. Buy some and be impressed. Also buy any cheese out of our cut-to-order cheese case and save 15% on the incredibly popular Cabot Clothbound Cheddar.

I'll take pics whilst I am in NYC and show you the awesomeness that I find.

Getting in touch with my inner designer

One of my tasks in the opening of the St Paul cheese shop is picking the colors for the shop. If you've met me you know that color/fashion sense are not necessarily my strong points. So of course I have enlisted my able partner in crime, Jesse, to help me make the shop look beautiful.

Here is what the color swatches on the wall look like. We're using an eco friendly VOC free paint brand called Yolo.

You check out all kinds of awesome eco friendly building material at this great shop in Minneapolis called Natural Built Home.