Nothing cheesy about this eatery

William Hamilton

04/02/2011

SAY CHEESE: The Cheese Plate owner Richard “R.J.” Alves took over a business he didn’t know a lot about but boned up on wines and cheeses and has managed to turn a profit after one year. /

R.J. Alves first stepped into The Cheese Plate looking to sell a credit card processing service to the owner.
Instead, Alves ended up buying the wine-and-cheese eatery on the corner of State and Water streets in Warren’s Waterfront Historic District.
Now, after his first year of ownership, Alves says he has turned a profit and learned a lot about wine and cheese – and people – in the process.
“It took me about a month after I opened to figure out that I didn’t have customers; I have guests,” Alves said recently. “And I am their host. At first I was looking at things more from a business point of view, but I learned quickly that people who come here should be treated like friends and family.”
Alves, a Bristol resident, acknowledged that he wasn’t exactly a wine connoisseur when he purchased the business in February 2009, and he knew little about most of the 50 cheeses that are on the menu.
But he does now.
Alves can tell customers the background of most of the cheeses – where they’re made, the flavor of each – but only if he senses they’re interested. And he says he’s well-versed on what wines are complementary to the cheese plates, which range in price from $20 to $55 and are big enough to feed multiple diners.
Alves’ career certainly has gone in a new direction.
In late 2008, he was a salesman for a Rhode Island credit card services company when he made a sales call to The Cheese Plate, a place then owned by Robert Healey, best known for his perennial run for lieutenant governor.
The two were acquaintances, and Healey said he was putting the business up for sale. “Do you want to buy it?” Healey asked.
This time, Alves took his fiancée to The Cheese Plate to see what she thought of it. Halfway through the cheese plate they ordered, she had reached her judgment: “You should buy it. This is totally you,” she said.
Alves agreed. Although he wasn’t an expert on wine and cheese, he had grown up in a Portuguese-American family where food and wine had been a big part of the heritage, and a big part of visits with relatives.
“It was engrained into my brain,” he said.
The food industry wasn’t totally new to him. He said he had “dabbled” in the hospitality field over the course of a few decades, working as a bartender and waiter at various restaurants. But this was different. There was a learning curve in getting acquainted with the various cheeses on the menu, such as piave vecchio – made in the Piave River Valley region of Italy – and drunken goat, from Spain, which is soaked in red wine.
The Cheese Plate also offers Italian meats, beer, coffee, espresso, cappuccino and desserts – all of it available at a retail counter and through The Cheese Plate’s catering service, too.
Alves wasn’t on his own when he bought the place. Healey provided a helping hand of sorts, serving as sort of a consultant to the business.
The establishment hasn’t changed much with new ownership, Alves said, aside from a new coat of paint and a new tables and chairs in the dining room. “I was nervous the first day I was there by myself,” he recalled. “But I never doubted it would be a success.”
Still, after taking over in February 2009, Alves said it took him a little while to get his footing, but he said he realized he needed to pull from his experiences in childhood and the welcoming feeling he got when he entered the homes of relatives.
Alves said he now offers the same type of atmosphere at The Cheese Plate, adding that judging by the amount of return customers, it’s working. At this point, he’s on a first-name basis with many of his customers.
“It’s an authentic thing,” he said.
Now, Alves said the widespread lack of knowledge about cheeses among many Americans is presenting one of the biggest challenges to his business.
When he tells people he owns an eatery that sells wine and cheese, he often hears, “That’s it?”
(Actually, his cheese plates also contain nuts, olives and vegetables, as well)
“It clicked one day that most Americans think of cheese as the slice they go into the refrigerators to get and throw on their sandwich,” Alves said. “That’s what Americans think. But it’s more than cheese, it’s an experience.”
That’s why he says the most satisfying moments he has at the business are when he brings out a cheese plate to new customers and they say, “Wow.”
“That’s what I’m looking for,” Alves said. •

COMPANY PROFILE
The Cheese Plate
OWNER: Richard “R.J.” Alves
TYPE OF BUSINESS: Wine and cheese restaurant
LOCATION: 54 State St., Warren
EMPLOYEES: 6
YEAR FOUNDED: 2008
ANNUAL SALES: WND