FRANCE 44
OUR REGULAR COLUMNIST ADRIAN BEALE INTERVIEWS BENJAMIN ROBERTS FROM FRANCE 44, A FAMILY OWNED LIQUOR STORE AND CHEESE SHOP IN MINNEAPOLIS TO SEE HOW THINGS ARE RUN OVER THERE.
MANY THANKS FOR TAKING TIME OUT OF YOUR BUSY DAY. WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO OPEN A CHEESE
SHOP/DELI? l Our shops are neighbourhood shops. We wanted to provide an accessible spot for people to receive spectacular service and eat some delicious food. Often speciality cheese can be intimidating and if you’re unfamiliar you might not know where to begin. If you walk into one of our shops, we’ll be sure to hand you a sample of cheese right away. There’s nothing more off putting than a cheesemonger who puts forth the attitude “I know more about this precious thing than you do, so just listen to me”.
PAINT US A PICTURE OF THE LOCATIONS OF YOUR STORES, I.E. THE NEIGHBOURHOOD, THE PEOPLE, DEMOGRAPHIC,
NEIGHBOURING STORES. l Our stores are located in two neighbouring cities—Minneapolis and St Paul. Two large metropolitan areas divided by the Mississippi river. Each is located within a fairly affluent neighbourhood. In Minneapolis we are part of a large building which houses our sister store which is a wine and spirits shop. Minneapolis is in a more suburban environment, whereas our St Paul shop is a bit more urban. In St Paul we are located next to the campus of a small liberal arts college, which I also attended.
WHAT DID YOU DO BEFORE/WHAT
SKILLS DID YOU BRING? l Before running these shops I managed a farm to table restaurant in Brooklyn, NY. Before that I worked as a business analyst in the financial
10 The Delicatessen Magazine
WHAT DID YOU THINK YOU COULD DO THAT OTHER CHEESE SHOPS/
DELIS WEREN’T DOING? l Service! There was nowhere in Minnesota providing the kind of solicitous service that I like. No place that wanted to go that extra step to make sure the customer’s experience was delightful from start to finish.
district of New York City. Skills? I suppose I knew a fair amount about food and how to be resourceful in making money off of every ingredient. My time in big business really trained my brain to think analytically.
DID EVERYTHING GO ACCORDING TO PLAN? WHAT WORKED AND
WHAT DIDN’T? l Ha! I’m not sure we actually had a plan. I effectively ran a jewellery shop for the first year, where we had very few customers but those that
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