The Cheese Iron

by Kristen Seymour
 

This European-style specialty shop, housed in an antique farmhouse in Portland, Maine, offers more than 200 domestic and international cheeses. But the owners go far beyond a stocked cheese counter. Visitors will also find an olive bar, a cheese cave where cheeses are hand-turned and 300 other products including wine, pâté, chocolates and freshly baked bread.

History

Although its doors didn’t open until 2006, the plan for The Cheese Iron was years in the making. Husband-and-wife owners Vince Maniaci and Jill Dutton had long dreamed of opening a cheese shop, and Maniaci spent many years learning the business from other establishments, including a stint at Dean & Deluca, from where he was hired-away to create European-style cheese counters at Harry’s Farmers Markets in Atlanta, Ga. When Whole Foods bought Harry’s, Maniaci became its specialty cheese expert at the national flagship store. After five years, he and his wife decided to sell their shares and open their own shop.

The only question was where to open it. “We had two places in mind, actually,” Maniaci says, “Portland, Maine, or Providence, Rhode Island. Farmstead beat us to the punch in Rhode Island, so here we are in Portland!”

★★STORE STATS★★

Year Opened: 2006

Type of Business: Specialty food store

Outstanding Features: On-site cheese cave, cheesemaking supplies and classes

Contact: Vince Maniaci

thecheeseiron.com

Points of Distinction

Not only does The Cheese Iron offer hundreds of the finest quality cheeses available in its 900-square-foot sales area (1,420 square feet total), it also serves as a cheesemaking destination, offering kits to make mozzarella, mascarpone, ricotta and paneer along with liquid rennet, tablet rennet and caloric acid as well as citric acid. Additionally, the shop sells various molds with which cheesemakers can form their homemade cheeses and offers access to cheese presses and waxes.

“The cheese is the backbone of our store,” Maniaci says. “We use the cheese to sell the wine, sell the jam, sell the other things we have on our shelves.” The best seller is a 26-month-old Gouda called Beemster X-O. “It’s a real crowd-pleaser,” he says, adding that it’s not only tasty, but at a good price point. The owners focus on buying local and seasonal products when possible.

How The Cheese Iron Keeps Innovating

“The plan is to reach outside these four walls,” Maniaci says. Now that the retailer has truly become part of the community and is well-known to the surrounding communities, The Cheese Iron plans to get more involved in catering larger parties. It will also continue serving the growing home-cheesemaking market with added equipment and monthly classes. Maniaci envisions his store becoming a destination by offering people the tools they need to get involved in the expanding
cheese culture.—K.S.

See all of the 2011 Award Winners by visiting the following link: 2011 Outstanding Retailer Awards

Eva Meszaros is associate editor of Specialty Food Magazine.
Kristen Seymour is a freelance writer for Paw Nation, That’s Fit,
BlogHer and Pet Home Magazine.

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