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GourmET nEWS SEPTEmbEr 2017 www.gourmetnews.com Retailer News rETAilEr nEWS 1 0 Culinary Apple Tempts Shoppers to Stay a While by miCAh ChEEk Like many retailers, Mary and David Weldy have felt the pressure of competing with Amazon and other sales sites. But Mary and David aren't worried about losing money to online markets, because they have made their store everything that Amazon isn't an immersive, informative experience that's worth traveling for. Culinary Apple is located in Chelan, Washington, a tiny resort town in the heart of Apple country and on the edge of Lake Chelan. The store actually got its start from being a gift shop and hub for apple tourism. "We shopped for everything apple! Apple candles, apple teapots and apple aprons, to name a few. That's how we became the 'Apple Store,'" says David Weldy, Co-Owner. "We private labeled our apple jams, jelly and butters. We started selling beautiful apple gift baskets with these items including fresh harvested ap- ples. And then we ultimately got into buy- ing a fudge factory and putting it in the store." After separately opening a kitchen- ware store as well, the Weldys decided to put their two businesses together. "We took the best of each store and developed that. Look at all that fresh fudge! Roasted glazed nuts! [You come in and] all of a sudden you see so many things that you wouldn't ex- pect in a kitchen store," David adds. Dubbed Culinary Apple, the new store has been curated with items for each wave of customers that will come in throughout the year. During the summer, Chelan's popula- tion swells from 7,000 to 25,000 with the influx of tourists and people who own sec- ond homes on the edge of the lake. "We're kicking off our high season now. Our peak time frame is June, July and August," says Mary, Co-Owner. "We have what's called 'Conference Season.' We do conference gifts and attendee gifts. That's March, April and May, and again in Septem- ber, October and Novem- ber, which is our harvest time for apples. Even though our visitors and tourists have gone back to the other side of the mountains, we still have our conference atten- dees." Lots of Culinary Apple's kitchenware business comes from the seasonal residents who need to outfit their second home with new tools or something they forgot on the trip. "Obviously kitchen gadgets are a huge part of our business," says David. For a time, the store was also outfitted with a wide variety of electric ap- pliance options as well. But as time passed, the profits from small electrics began to shrink. "We don't carry a lot of that product like we used to. We've already eliminated Vitamix, they've sold their soul to Amazon. We were doing Soda Stream, but all the big box stores got involved in it, so we moved away from Soda Stream," says David. "We reduced our electric lines, and got a lot of shelf space for things that turn better with higher margins." The Weldys have created a strong en- gagement program for customers both on- line and in the store itself. "We created our own rewards program," says Mary. "We have over 6,000 people in our rewards pro- gram. We send them an email, and our monthly open rate for that email is about 22 percent." David adds, "We have so many people coming in for that birthday reward. We send them 10 dollars and they walk out with 100 dollars of merchandise." Culinary Apple also has a schedule of sales that co- incide with tastings and tool demonstra- tions. "Because it's Reward Friday, when you let people know they can come into the store and get 20 percent off anything that isn't excluded, we have a lot of people in the store. And a lot of them go to the Gadget Playdate." The return from the Gadget Playdate can be substantial. Mary adds, "I would say on average, we have a solid 30 people that purchase, and they purchase on a pretty good volume. We'll ac- tually have customers come in on Thurs- day to take a look, and then come in to buy on Friday." When the rewards bring them to the store, customers will meet a Culinary Apple team that the Weldys have seriously invested in educating. "We do a phenome- nal business in knives, and it's because our team knows a lot about knives," says Mary. David adds, "A few weeks ago we had WUSTHOF do training in store for the staff followed by a sales training trip to Seattle for knife skill training by Shun. Then we went to Progressive [International] and did about a six-hour training with them." To make sure their staff is as knowledgeable as possible, Mary and David take their team to as many company training programs as they can. "We gave up about $2,500 in sales by closing our store, we spend about $800 to take our team over, but that was so inexpensive compared to the team build- ing, training and brainstorming. Every time we get back to the store we see how enthu- siastic everyone is to share what they have learned. It just pays off dividends." The experienced staff integrates into a store experience designed to appeal to all the senses. "When you come in you'll smell nuts roasting, or someone in the back mak- ing fudge. We're still getting lots of baby boomers, so we play that music that appeals to them. It makes them feel good," says David. "Then they're greeted with one of our team. 'Hello, would you like to try a cinnamon- glazed pecan?' And then they get a taste. It's about appealing to all the senses." Culinary Apple has leveraged its fruit-focus theme to leverage deals with manufacturers. "We just completed an agreement with Dexas. They have a beau- tiful apple cutting board that we sell in the store. We have a co-op that looks for apple products to give to their growers for their big annual fall harvest party," says David. "We [also] did that with JK Adams with their apple cutting board. These are the kinds of things we've done to grow our business. You've got to think outside of the box, not just waiting for that next customer to walk into your store, but reaching out to corporate clients and asking for there busi- ness. Like our sign says on our front door, 'Culinary Apple a store to experience.'" GN Marcel's Culinary Experience Adds On-Site Chef Option for Private Events Marcel's Culinary Experience (www.marcelsculinaryexperience.com), a gourmet retailer and recreational cooking school in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, (Chicago suburb), has expanded its private event ca- pabilities with the addition of a chef-driven on-site event option for individuals, busi- nesses and other groups. Executive Chef Paul Lindemuth, a vet- eran Chicago area caterer and popular in- structor at Marcel's, leads the new service, called Maison, which means "house or home" in French. "Whether you're planning an intimate dinner at home, a casual barbecue in your backyard or a lavish cocktail party at your office, Maison can provide the quality and experience you've come to expect from Marcel's," he said. "These events are infinitely customizable so we can create the exact experience that our customers want." Maison differentiates itself by doing all cooking at the event location, where hosts and guests are invited to observe and inter- act with the chef. "It's like a chef's table in a restaurant," Lindemuth said. The Maison team can provide whatever's required – including arranging for rental dishes, glassware or tables and chairs – or they can use items provided by the host. Maison can also arrange for extras such as flowers and favors for guests. In addition to preparing and serving food and beverages, the Maison team cleans up. "By doing it all, we let the hosts focus on their guests and not the kitchen," he said. Each event is custom-designed by Linde- muth, along with other Marcel's/Maison chefs Brandy Fernow, Robin Nathan and Julie Szimon. For more information, contact Linde- muth at 630.790.8500 or paul@marcels culinaryexperience.com. GN

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