Oser Communications Group

GOURMET NEWS JANUARY 2016 www.gourmetnews.com RETAILER NEWS 1 1 Tucson Grocer Updates a Tradition BY MICAH CHEEK Rincon Market is a Tucson, Arizona, insti- tution, feeding generations of customers while drastically adapting to suit the needs of the community's future. The rustic mar- ket has kept an extremely local focus on the University of Arizona and the surrounding Sam Hughes neighborhood. "It's a pretty tight-knit community; we like to support our own people," says John Abbott, Gen- eral Manager. Abbott is the third generation of the family that has been operating Rin- con Market since its opening in 1926.Through changes in location and careful expansion, the market now boasts 12,000 square feet and 60 employees. Rincon Market's grocery area takes up about a third of the floor space, and is geared towards staple items. Wooden bar- rels and shelving form islands around the room, each displaying foods organized by meal. One island is taken up by pastas and sauces; another is composed of all granolas and breakfast essentials. Between 25 and 30 percent of these retail products are pro- duced in-state. The seafood counter has been a major focus for Abbott, who calls it, "About the best you'll find in Arizona." In fact, the fish market is the best seller in the entire grocery. The grocery is stocked with foods that will complement Rincon's butcher and seafood selections. These grocery products used to be spread across the sales floor, but this layout was reconsidered in 2013, when a fire made major renovations necessary. Taking the opportunity to reorganize, Rin- con grocery and food service areas were walled off from one an- other. Since that time, the dine-in options have con- tinued to increase. Over the years, Rincon Market's focus has shifted from the conventional gro- cery format, adding more to the food service side of the building, and now the market's food service area does more business than the original retail space. This shift towards fresh made products reflects a greater trend in food retail. Retailers are responding to the reality that the col- lege students and Millen- nial couples that make up a major part of the neigh- borhood are also the de- mographics that are moving away from the tra- ditional cooking roles. Mil- lenial buyers are also price-conscious, and Rincon Market was having trouble competing with the prices offered by larger chain grocers. Like many grocers, Rincon Market has responded to the changing environment by expanding the food service area into a bakery, pizza oven, grill, salad bar, ice cream stand and a bar for wine, beer and coffee. The steady investment in food service products has produced an area of the store that looks completely different than the rustic grocery section. In the din- ing area, four stainless steel serving coun- ters form a square in the middle of the room, with corrugated hoods overhead. This serving area holds the bakery counter, grill and pre-made hot food areas. One can buy a pound of spaghetti and meatballs, then turn a corner to pick up a fist-sized custard cream puff, baked fresh in-house. Continued expansion of the food serv- ice area isn't necessarily where Abbot wants to see the market go. "We would love to grow our business as a whole more," says Abbott. "We don't want to just focus on one spot of the business." It re- mains to be seen whether or not the mar- ket's grocery strength will grow alongside expanding dine in options, but Abbott's at- tention seems more focused on retaining the local community that has helped keep Rincon Market open for almost a century. "We have people who have been coming here as kids," says Abbott. "We have peo- ple , 40- or 50-year-olds that tell us about how their parents used to bring them here after church. There's always a story." GN BY RICHARD THOMPSON Wedge Cheese Shop found itself smack dab in a blooming grassroots renaissance that is witnessing midtown Reno become a so- phisticated food, culture and art scene. "This is the perfect time for a shop like this," says Laura Conrow, Owner, CCP and Cheesemonger for Wedge Cheese Shop, as she discusses the emerging gourmet market that is finding home in the "Biggest Little City in the World." According to Conrow, Reno is a hidden gem right now, and when people come, they are pleasantly surprised at what they find. "The food scene in Reno is exploding," says Conrow. "We're really upping the ante over here with a phenomenal food culture … establishing the cultural viability of Reno." It wasn't very long ago, maybe just a decade, that midtown Reno was considered a pretty dicey area, says Conrow, but due to grassroots business development – pushed primarily by some local pioneers – a revi- talized food scene blossomed. "It's exciting to be a part of the business community....We're getting more specialty shops and innovative chefs in the area," she says. As Silicon Valley giants like Tesla and Switch move into Reno, people with Cali- fornia tastes are coming along and pushing for a specialty and gourmet market. "It's a very exciting time to be in Reno while we're on the cusp of this exciting growth," says Conrow. Since opening in 2012, Wedge Cheese Shop has remained surrounded by monu- ments of bohemian culture; Aces Tattoo, where you can get some sick ink-work done, faces Wedge straight on while Dreamer's Coffee House relaxes right next door in the same building. Just around the corner on Virginia Street is Classic Skate Shop, and if you turn around and walk back the other direction, you'll eventually wind up by D Street Designs where you'll find yourself enamored by the hand-crafted jewelry offered there. "Business has been great in the last three years. It's like the peo- ple come in and realize there are quality shops like these," says Conrow. "They are like: 'That's cool.... Reno has a cheese shop'." Peppered throughout the area are too many artisan eateries to count – but none of them are like Wedge. Wedge Cheese Shop holds the title of being Reno's first and dedicated artisan cheese shop, and at roughly 1000 square feet, the red brick shop offers an assortment of 100 different hand-crafted cheeses – 120 during the holidays – as well as all of the products necessary to make a complete cheese board. Conrow says, "Whatever your specialty cheese needs, we have the products to serve with it – fresh baguettes and crackers, chocolates, local honeys and tasty jams, preserves and chutneys, olives, mustard, quality olive oils and aged bal- samic vinegars." The shop also provides over 40 different types of charcuterie prod- ucts. The cheese shop has an artsy feel to it as black boards advertise product prices writ- ten in colorful chalk displays of neon pink and sunflower yellow. The small sit-down area consists of round, two-seater tables that add to its gourmet cafe vibe. Dotting the walls, shelves and whatever free space is left are art pieces from the local art com- munity. "Joyce Chenel does beautiful wooden cheese boards along with wine racks and tables. There's a guy who makes cheese knives, a woman who made oil paintings of cheeses and a textile artist who makes flat images from wool. We always try to find artists that relate to our business," says Conrow. Art pieces can be purchased right at the shop. Conrow has always been interested in ar- tisan cheese, but after cutting out cow's milk from her diet in the early '90s, she began her long journey with goat cheeses – a category that Wedge Cheese Shop special- izes in. She says that she lived in northern Nevada for a really long time, and there was nothing cheese-wise that existed in the area, so she got involved in the Bay Area cheese scene. "I volunteered with Califor- nia's Artisan Cheese Festival held in Petaluma and was later staffed with them. After that, I worked for the California Milk Advisory Board and spent four years work- ing at Whole Foods before learning that Reno was ready for a shop." Besides Conrow, Wedge Cheese Shop has four other employees who all hold a special place in their hearts for cheese. "You have to love cheese to work here," says Conrow. Besides that, anyone who works there has to have a good background in food in gen- eral. In addition to knowing and selling cheese products, employees are expected to help customers with recipes and serving suggestions. "Sometimes we have to make substitu- tions and suggestions for recipes," explains Conrow. "We have to know food well." Wedge Cheese Shop is active in the com- munity and participates in a number of events throughout the year. One of the biggest city-wide arts events, Artown, has nearly 100 businesses – including Wedge – work alongside local artists to show off their pieces while engaging the community throughout the month of August. "The whole community supports [Artown]. It's great; people walk down the area, look at the art and buy it," she says. As for Renoites themselves, while Wedge sells a lot of classics such as Cheddar, many customers are initially wary when they see ashen cheeses. Conrow says that she and her staff happily educate customers on cheese, opening their minds and palates to something they've never experienced be- fore. "It's funny, but Reno loves triple cream Brie...and they love Chardonnay," Conrow says after a moment of thought. "Reno is a Chardonnay town." GN Artisan Cheese Shop Wedges into Reno's Gourmet Market

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