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Gourmet News January 2015

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GOURMET NEWS JANUARY 2015 www.gourmetnews.com Retailer News RETAILER NEWS 1 2 BRIEFS Iconic American Retail Brand Dean & DeLuca Acquired by Thai Property Company PACE Development Corp. Thailand's PACE Development Corporation recently announced that it has entered into an agreement to purchase iconic gourmet food brand, Dean & DeLuca, as well as its global business and assets for $140 million. The move aims to boost PACE's capabilities as a developer of super-premium mixed use developments as well as fuel rapid global growth of the Dean & DeLuca gourmet food and beverage retailing business. The purchase includes the supply chain and op- erations of eleven outlets and two commis- saries in the United States as well as the licensing agreements covering 31 interna- tional locations, among them outlets in Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emi- rates. "We want to capitalize on the global con- vergence of super-premium mixed-use property development and lifestyle brands," said Sorapoj Techakraisri, Chief Executive Officer of PACE Development Corporation. "The best margins in the busi- ness of premium property development of the future is in offering customers a lifestyle, not just bricks and mortar. People want a total delivered environment where they feel good about living. It's why we must be able to bring into our properties some of the world's best lifestyle brands. It's a proven model already successfully de- ployed by thought leaders in property and retail property development." Techakraisri said that the iconic Dean & DeLuca brand also has "extraordinary po- tential for rapid growth globally. We expect to open hundreds of new stores in the next two years to add to the current 42 stores and to increase our global footprint from eight countries to more than 15 countries in the same period through licensing and our own investments." "We want to fully maximize the potential of the Dean & DeLuca brand," Techakraisri added. "Its equity is as distinct as it is strong, standing for the finest food and food-related products, while the business has a well-established track record of al- most 40 years. There is also an outstanding organization staffed with great talent. We intend to retain the current management team and to incentivize them in line with our vision." GN Urban Remedy Launches San Francisco Store Urban Remedy, a Northern California-based certified organic food company, recently announced the opening of its first San Francisco store. Located in the Cow Hollow/Marina district on Union Street, the store will offer a full assortment of the company's certified organic, non-GMO and low-glycemic, cold-pressed juices, grab-and-go meals and snacks. Built on the belief that "food is healing," Urban Remedy offers a range of delicious, healthful and naturally functional foods from grab-and-go meals, such as an Asian-inspired Zen Salad (with kale, napa cabbage, almonds, carrots, cilantro and a ginger sesame dressing), spring rolls (made with brown-rice wrappers) and zucchini fettuccine (sans carbs with pesto sauce), to an array of gluten-free desserts and snacks, cold-pressed juices and smoothies. The Union Street store adds to Urban Remedy's existing locations in San Rafael and Mill Valley. Bissinger's Opens St. Louis Headquarters Bissinger's and The Caramel Room unveiled their new St. Louis facility in a special chocolate ribbon cutting ceremony and grand opening party on October 15. Over 300 guests looked on as Bissinger's President and CEO Tim Fogerty and St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay opened the new space. Constructed in 1910, the historic property was once home to the Missouri Kansas Texas Railroad Depot. A $15 million renovation was undertaken to upgrade to industry standards while preserving much of the building's original architectural detail. The four-story building contains 220,000 square feet of office and manufacturing space and will now accommodate private chocolate tours. The top floor has a new 14,000-square-foot special event space which can seat up to 350 people for dinner and features a 4,200-square-foot deck offering unprecedented views. For more information on Bissinger's confections, visit www.bissingers.com, or call 800.325.8881. Antonelli's Continued from PAGE 1 tonelli's Cheese Shop is the cheese, and shoppers will find a wide variety of prod- ucts at the store divided into seven cate- gories: fresh, bloomy rind/soft-ripened, washed rind, semi-soft, firm, hard and blue. The store has a particular focus on Texas cheese, promoting a number of es- teemed Lone Star State dairies like Eagle Mountain Farmhouse Cheese in Granbury, Pure Luck Farm & Dairy in Dripping Springs, Caprino Royale in Waco and The Mozzarella Company in Dallas. Among the store's non-Texas-produced offerings, John, a determined supporter of the craft of American cheesemaking and the current Treasurer for the American Cheese Society, focuses largely on bringing his customers American-made products. In addition to cheeses, there are a num- ber of other specialty products available at Antonelli's Cheese. When customers enter the 700-square-foot shop, they are imme- diately confronted with a wall stocked with crackers, jams, honeys, mustards, duck fat and other sundries. Next to that is a meat case stocked with char- cuterie, as well as an accompanying olive case. Elsewhere in the store, customers will find an artisan choco- late section, bread and even beer and wine. Particularly popular among the store's clien- tele are Robert Lambert jams, honeys from Red Bee Honey and Savannah Bee Com- pany and confections from Dick Taylor Chocolate and Askinosie Chocolate. When it comes to the cheese itself, staff members at Antonelli's Cheese have a unique approach to uniting customers with the cheese for which they are most perfectly suited. "What we're sell- ing is really an experi- ence for us," said John. "It's really important that when you come in to this environment you have a tour guide. Every cus- tomer that comes into our shop works one-on- one with one of our cheesemongers. It's a no exception rule." By hand-selling the cheeses every time, the store's staff is able to ask important questions and steer the customer towards the product that best meets his or her needs. In addition, An- tonelli's cheesemongers are able to tell the customer much more about the cheeses than they could ever read on a label, help- ing to forge deeper connections between the customer and the cheesemaker. For John, his hope is to make Antonelli's Cheese Shop a longstanding and important cog in the larger Texas cheese indus- try. He believes that by supporting one another, he as the cheesemonger can work alongside his state's accom- plished cheesemak- ers to create a mutually sustaining regional dairy in- dustry that will continue to grow into the future. "We are focused on supporting ca- reers in cheese. That means that people we buy from and work with live near here," he said. "Texas is an amazing state for agricul- ture. We have so many different environ- ments that are well-suited for different types of animals. The growth that we are seeing here with cheese is magnificent. We are able to support different producers in dif- ferent ways." "We want to be in business for at least thirty years, and we want to see these businesses be successful for thirty years. So how do we start planning for that today?" John continued. In addition to supporting American and Texas cheese by promoting job growth, An- tonelli's Cheese also strives to help the re- gional dairy industry through education. The shop recently opened an adjacent event space, where the store's staff hold weekly classes and host private tastings and other events. One specific educational initiative An- tonelli's Cheese has taken is to educate local foodservice professionals on regional cheeses and to help promote Texas dairy products through Austin's bustling restau- rant scene. Antonelli's cheesemongers work one-on-one with local chefs to help find cheeses for their menus. The store's staff also does private classes with restaurant front-of-house and back-of-house staff, helping to ensure that those serving the product are able to competently discuss it with restaurant guests. The fact that Antonelli's Cheese Shop is such a multifaceted enterprise with fingers in so many different pies is part of the store's design. For John, what excites him about cheese is the fact that this industry is so various and diverse, and he wants to be involved not just with selling cheese, but with every part of the industry. "I love cheese. I think it's so amazing. I like its variety," said John. "Cheese, when you start to talk about it is really a histor- ical product. There's a lot of tradition be- hind it. There's science that goes into it. There's an art to retail and cheese – an aes- thetic beauty to the product. A lot of cheeses are economically significant for regions. It plays an important role in peo- ple's lives. You have a physiological reac- tion to cheese, which is cool. When it comes to retailing cheese, there is psychol- ogy, there in marketing. There's so many different aspects to cheese, and that makes me happy. Why wouldn't you want to be in that industry?" GN

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