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Vermont cheesemaker opens new retail store in historic village |
08.06.2010
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By Ellen Ranta
GRAFTON VILLAGE, Vt.-In an effort to capitalize more heavily on the tourist business here, Grafton Village Cheese Co. relocated its retail store from its cheesemaking plant to a location in the middle of town here.
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The new 900-square-foot store, which is connected to the Grafton Village Inn, opened July 3 to more than 1,000 shoppers, said Meri Spicer, Director of Marketing for Grafton Village Cheese.
"People who come to Grafton want a classic Vermont experience, with hiking, biking and local food, and the store can introduce our products, as well as others, to these new customers," Spicer said.
Grafton Village Cheese Co. previously operated two retail stores at each of its cheesemaking plants, one here and one in Battleboro.
"The Battleboro store was much bigger than the Grafton store, and allowed for a wider variety of products. We modeled the new Grafton Village store off of the success of Battleboro," said Spicer. "The Grafton plant is also a little ways out of town, so we decided to close that location and reopen in a bigger, more centrally-located location." Visitors to Battleboro can still stop by the plant and the store there, as that retail location is remaining open.
The new shop carries 80-100 varieties of cheese, fine wines and specialty foods, with a focus on local products, and will play host to lots of in-store events like tastings and book-signings to help drive sales, Spicer said.
"One of the best ways to sell cheese is to get it into people's mouths, and the same goes for wine and other foods too," she said.
Grafton Village Cheese Company also sells its products online and through various retailers across the country, and Spicer said that the retail stores help to create loyal customers that continue purchasing Grafton Village products long after they've left Vermont.
"The second largest reason that people purchase online from us, other than being loyal, long-time fans, is that they have visited the store. By doing a nice job with our retail stores we can build more of those loyal customers," Spicer said.
While the company does not have any immediate plans for future brick-and-mortar locations, Spicer said she couldn't rule it out completely, and that business has been steady as of late.
"People are still really interested in great cheese, and they aren't sacrificing on what they bring home to cook and entertain with," she said. "Despite the economy, people are still indulging."
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