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RETAILER PROFILE www.kitchenwarenews.com n JUNE 2018 n KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW 1 7 Retailer Profile BY LORRIE BAUMANN Sam Eibling, her brother George Huntington, and her husband, Doug Eibling, bought Goods for Cooks, in Bloomington, Indiana, last September with the thought that previous owners Andrew and Charlotte Appel had a good thing going on. They just wanted to try to honor the legacy that the previous owners had created. "We're the fifth set of owners," Sam Eibling says. "It started in 1973 with Charlotte [Zietlow] and Marilyn [Schultz], who passed it to Bob [Swanson], and then to Beth Hollingsworth. … Each owner had presided over the shop anywhere between eight and 12 years, and the business celebrates 45 years this year. It's been a fixture in the community." For the Eiblings, Goods for Cooks is also a chance to put down deep roots into the community where Sam and her brother were born and raised. Before their return to Indiana, where Doug now works as a development officer for the Indiana University School of Optometr y, the couple had moved around the country in connection with Doug's job directing tournaments for the LPGA Tour. As they moved around, Sam worked in restaurant management, corporate leasing and marketing and retail, including a stint at Pryde's Kitchen & Necessities while the couple was living in Kansas City. Five years ago, they decided to come home to Indiana, where Sam continues a career as a yoga instructor, a role she still relishes around her responsibilities to Goods for Cooks. George Huntington had stayed in Indiana, where he owned a small grocery store called Shortstop for about 13 years. Following that experience, he was a manager for the local food co-op for the next 21 years. Life was humming along when George read in the local newspaper that Andrew and Charlotte Appel were looking for new owners for Goods for Cooks who would keep the store going. They closed the deal on the business on September 1, 2017, and although there have been changes as the new owners imprinted their own experience onto the shop, the heart of the business remains the same. A new sign just went up on the building, and the new owners are expanding the selection of foods offered in the store, but overall, it's still the go-to supplier for Bloomington's foodies that it's always been. " We really do feel that we are stewards of something that 's a little bit bigger than us. It's the place that people go to to talk about food, to explore their connection with food. We really feel like it 's a great place to be — near the downtown restaurants who come and buy stuff f rom us, and close to the farmers market," Sam says. The store, which has about 2,400 square feet of display space, is housed in a storef ront built in 1929 on Bloomington's downtown square. It's across the street f rom the county courthouse and about a mile f rom the IU campus. It's a block f rom the B-Line Trail, a multi-use trail through Bloomington's downtown, and it 's about two blocks f rom the local farmers market. There's a cooking school downstairs in the same building. The store is divided by a glass-walled hallway that separates the area where food is sold — about a third of the space — f rom the kitchenware side of the business. On the kitchenware side of the store, Sam has adjusted the inventory mix a bit away from a focus on high-end goods, in an effort to attract customers who aren't yet confident enough in the kitchen to know where they want to make a real investment in their equipment. "We are committed to carrying high- quality products at a variety of price points with the intention of making cooking and entertaining accessible to all," Sam says. "We are dedicated to serving the serious cooks and connoisseurs, as well as the novices, the curious and even the f rustrated cook. Food is life, a means of connecting and nourishing those we love, honoring traditions and expanding world views — we want to foster this." The store counts chefs and cooks f rom the local restaurants among its customers, both for quick pick-up items like cocktail picks and for knives and pans. Goods for Cooks carries WüSTHOF and Shun as core cutler y lines, supplemented by Chroma, Global, Victorinox and Kyocera. " WüSTHOF continues to be well received and well regarded," Sam says. "We like to place a knife in people's hands and let them feel how it 's weighted, how it's riveted, how it 's bolstered. We ask the chefs and cooks what they 're using a particular knife for. It helps to know how the particular person is using their instrument before you suggest products. There are chefs and cooks who are looking for workhorse knives for the restaurant kitchen, but they also want a beautiful, quality knife for their own kitchens." The store carries cast-iron cookware f rom several manufacturers, including Lodge, FINEX and Le Creuset. "We are in love with the versatility of iron cookware," Sam admits. She sees resurging interest in cast iron cookware as part of a trend away f rom large multi-piece sets and toward thoughtful purchases of individual items chosen on their own merits and the needs of the cook who's going to be using them. "People are more confident about what they're putting into their kitchen, based on their interests, lifestyle and tastes," she says. "Gone are the days of one-size-fits- all sets and everything needing to match." On the grocery side of the store, Goods for Cooks offers a cold case with cheeses and charcuterie. "You could basically come into our store and buy everything you need to put together a charcuterie plate," Sam said. The cheese selection includes about 10 cheeses at any given time, with the focus on Parmesan and other hard Italian cheeses as well as Vermont Creamery 's offerings. Tea and coffee are sampled every day, and the selection also includes several different pastas and polenta. A vinegar and olive oil tasting bar offers a large assortment of olive oils, and the shelves also hold jams, jellies and compotes as well as cookies, chocolates and candies. "It 's like a mini gourmet entertaining grocery store," Sam says. "It's a great place to buy a little treat for yourself or a gift for a f riend." Food currently represents about a quarter of the store's revenues, and that share is growing "… as we educate through social media, our website and other marketing avenues," Sam says. "Ever yone eats, so ever yone's our customer. That seems very broad, but hat is literally the intention behind this business," she adds. " We're looking for people who are still exploring. We have customers who want to learn, and also customers who don't want to learn — maybe they just want some salami and cheese to take to a party. But we also have people coming in to look for knives or a tagine or a coffee. We strive to meet each customer's needs. We strive to cultivate a space where everyone feels comfortable, no matter their level of interest or experience regarding food." KN Goods for Cooks Offers Fare for Foodies

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