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Outstanding Retailers of 2011

Fromagination

by Kristen Seymour

With a prime location on Capitol Square in Madison, Wisc., and across from one of the nation’s largest farmers markets, this winning cheese shop attracts food lovers from all over the world by offering a carefully edited selection of 400 products, including full- flavored, traditionally made cheeses, more than 60 of which are local artisanal varieties, and specialty accoutrements.

History

Owner Ken Monteleone opened Fromagination in 2007 after 23 years as a retail buyer for footwear, a job that allowed him to travel the world. “I spent the last couple of years of my job with more of a passion for the European specialty food stores than the shoe stores,” Monteleone says. This led him to look into how he could combine his passion and life experience into a new career.

Although he focused on marketing and accounting in college, Monteleone had an early education in specialty foods—his family had a wholesale/resale company specializing in Italian products. He also had the advantage of having called Madison home for 15 years, so he knew that a cut-to-order specialty cheese store was missing. He decided to fill that niche and spent a year taking classes and networking before opening Fromagination. “I wanted to make sure I did my homework so that I was 100 percent prepared, and also that the concept was something that would be meaningful to the community.”

★★STORE STATS★★

Type of Business: Specialty cheese store

Outstanding Features: Close relationships with cheesemakers and small artisans; attention to environmental impact

Contact: Ken Monteleone

fromagination.com

Points of Distinction

Fromagination focuses on service, ensuring customers have an unforgettable experience and learn about the products they buy. “We try to bring the cheesemakers more front and center, and allow them to tell their story—we want to make them the rock stars of the shop,” Monteleone says. Because of the close relationships he has forged with Wisconsin cheesemakers, Fromagination is often one of the first retailers many producers contact when a new cheese is developed and ready for tasting.

The eco-friendly store, built with several recycled and reclaimed materials, works not only with area cheesemakers but other food artisans as well. Monteleone sources as many local products as possible, nearly 60 percent of the total offerings, he says. Fromagination also offers several recycling programs, such as Bring Your Own Bag, Picnic Blankets, Gift Basket Return and Reusable Cookbooks.

While the store offers complementary items, cheese accounts for 60 to 70 percent of business. Hard cheeses are the biggest draw, and the most popular variety is Pleasant Ridge Reserve-Extra-Aged, a cow’s milk cheese aged 18–24 months from
Uplands Cheese.

How Fromagination Keeps Innovating

Currently, Fromagination is looking at opening a second location in Madison. It recently launched a new website, which will now allow customers from all over the world to shop its store online.—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. Year Opened: 2007