With an expansion into downtown Providence, Farmstead Inc., the cheese mongers of Wayland Square, hope to capitalize on business lunches and take-away diners, as well as an informal partnership with neighboring Eno Fine Wines and Spirits.
With cheese and wine fitting so well together, the two shops approached each other at nearly the same time with the idea of a working together.
“We came to the agreement pretty quickly that we would be the perfect match to complement what they’re doing and also for them to complement what we’re doing,” said Matt Jennings, co-owner of Farmstead with his wife, Kate.
The new store, Farmstead Downcity, won’t be a formal business partner with the wine seller, but there will be cross promotion and plenty of suggestions for wine-and-cheese pairs.
“Unfortunately, the great state of Rhode Island won’t allow us to sell alcohol and food in the same four walls unless we’re a restaurant,” Matt Jennings said last month.
For Eno owner Jerry Ehrlich, the neighboring cheese shop expected to open by March on Westminster Street will hopefully draw in more wine buyers.
“There is some incredible synergy that we see taking place and we intend to mutually support each other,” he said. “I anticipate that we will be having more tastings that are selected toward the cheeses next door and I think that Matt will make an effort to put up little notes next to all his cheeses to say what the best wine is to go with it.”
Between Farmstead, which opened during 2003, and La Laiterie, the adjoining restaurant with the same owners that opened during 2006, there are about 24 employees.
Now, the two stores have very individual business models – with Farmstead focusing on artisan-cheese retail and La Laiterie a full-service restaurant. “Downcity is going to be a little bit of a culmination of both,” Jennings said.
With gourmet retail and “grab-and-go” lunch items, he hopes it will be attractive to those who work downtown. “There will be artisan sandwiches, some prepared foods and probably some prepackaged, high-quality salads,” he said.
“The goal was to design it so there is almost an HMR component to it – what we call HMR is home-meal replacement,” Jennings said. “So you can come in and get some slices of stuffed pork loin with some roasted potatoes and a nice vegetable either for lunch – to take back to your office – or for dinner to take home later that night.”
The original Farmstead only occupies about 700 square feet and the new store will only be about 500 square feet.
“It was the perfect size for us,” Jennings said. “Part of our business model moving forward is to do more of these micro-shops, as we’re calling them, where they can be staffed by one or two mongers. They’re going to be low labor, high sales as a way for us to disperse our product costs.”
The Jenningses aren’t far enough along to say where other satellite stores might be, but they are actively looking.
“It’s a testament to the growth of our particular industry. The fastest-growing sector of the food industry right now is specialty and artisan foods,” Matt Jennings said. “It’s something that we’ve championed since we opened our doors and we’re excited that the rest of the world has caught up.”
He said their sales are up a “solid” 30 percent since the first year they were open.
Eno opened eight months ago and, so far, is drawing enough downtown business, Ehrlich said. Now, his customer base is mostly students, people who live downtown and those who work nearby. With Farmstead coming in, Ehrlich hopes more customers will be drawn from outside downtown to Westminster Street.
“I’m looking forward to an increase in business,” Ehrlich said. “I’ve made a projection, but I’m keeping that to myself. I do think it really will increase my business both through the natural fit of cheese and wine and through the additional people who are going to come down.” •
