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The Cheese Shop: Indianapolis’ Small-Town Mall Store

This affinity with his clientele has snowballed word-of-mouth recognition to the point where consumers travel from all over Indiana to visit The Cheese Shop, helping Meyer grow his business 40% in just four years. Specialty Food Magazine estimates that the market does approximately $32,000 in weekly business.

Green Eggs and Ham
It was through personal rapport that Meyer came to own the store in the first place. The Cheese Shop opened 21 years ago at the Fashion Center at Keystone, a shopping mall in the city’s affluent northern end. Through his mother, B.J. Meyer, who had been an employee there for eight years and remains on staff today, Meyer knew the previous owner and the operation. When the store came up for sale, he bought it and has since concentrated on expanding established departments like cheese, augmenting sparse ones such as wine, and instituting innovative monthly membership clubs for customers beyond the traditional trade area.

Tasting helped him educate himself over the years (“My mother always brought home good cheese and other products.) and it is a practice he relies on for his customers. “Watching their faces to see what they like or don’t like is the most fun part of the job, says Meyer. “We’ll unwrap 20 cheeses and watch them taste. Often, they’ll buy five or six.

The Cheese Shop’s primary customer base is upper-class professionals ages 45 and older, who are either serious home cooks or who like to entertain. However, due to the store’s mall location, Meyer also attracts a fair amount of curious walk-ins whose misconceptions he needs to overcome. “A lot of people think cheese should be orange or yellow, he says. “I’ve been asked, ‘Why do you bleach your cheese?’ But, if they are used to a supermarket block of cheese and they taste a sharp cheddar, they’re blown away. It’s like the Green Eggs and Ham story—they have to try it.

95% Imported Cheese
Cheese is by far the biggest seller, with the department boasting about 150 varieties during the year and 300 at the holiday season. Imported cheese widely outsells domestic, comprising 95% of sales, something Meyer chalks up to his well-heeled clientele wanting to buy products they sampled while traveling overseas. “A lot of our best sellers were brought in on customer request, he notes.

Much of the cheeses are priced near the $15 mark, though there are some under-$10 choices like Danish Esrom and German Tilsit. The selection encompasses varieties from 20 countries, including Austria, Portugal, Wales, Mexico and Holland. “Most of what we sell you can’t get anywhere else around here, explains Meyer, whose main competition consists of larger chain stores such as Wild Oats and Trader Joe’s. “You can go to the supermarket for Manchego, but they are buying on price while we buy on quality.

The cheese counter is prominently located at the far end of the store directly opposite the entrance. Other perishables line the perimeter, including an adjacent meat case offering pˆaté, smoked salmon, proscuitto, salamis, sausages, and mousses priced between $15.99 for salmon and nearly $30 for goose terrine foie gras. The Cheese Shop offers no catering or prepared foods save the occasional party tray of cheese and meat. “I want my employees to know and sell cheese, not make sandwiches, says Meyer.

There is a small selection of fresh baked items including quiche, cookies and breads, handmade daily. The kitchen is run by a staff of one, with another employee working exclusively on preparing the store’s renowned Sicilian Crème Spread, a private-recipe blend of cream cheese and herbs. Other house specialties include two freshly made tortas in Sundried Tomato and Pine Nut Basil flavors.

Mom on the Selling Floor
Low wooden shelves of packaged specialty items run through the center of the selling floor. This department, run by B.J., comprises about 20% of sales and includes cheese accouterments and condiments such as crackers, mustards, chutneys, olives, salsas, olive oils and vinegars, as well as spices, cookies, snacks and other pantry items.

The Cheese Shop’s large coffee bean selection can be ground in-store and consists of 18 flavored and 18 unflavored varieties, plus six flavored decaffeinated and six regular decaffeinated. The store also has a considerable private-label line of about 50 jams, preserves, butters and salsas.

“Nothing stays on the shelves or in back stock too long so we hardly ever run an in-store sale. If a product is not moving, we donate it to organizations like Second Helpings, which accepts food donations for homeless shelters, says Meyer.

Small niche wines have helped build business in the wine department, an area that has significantly grown from about six labels to almost 300. “Originally, I used a large distributor who was getting me supermarket-type varieties, Meyer says. Desiring to stock more elusive, boutique labels, Meyer turned to a small local distributor who now supplies nearly 80% of his selection. “They taught me everything I know, brought me to wine tastings and helped me build the department, he says. “When I came in we were selling about three bottles a week, now we do 16 cases weekly.

The department includes labels from Spain, Argentina, Italy, France and the U.S. Signage explains each variety’s origins and characteristics. This contrasts to the rest of the store where no P-O-S material appears on shelves. Minimal signage in the cheese department reveals the cheese’s name and the flag of its country of origin. “I’d rather my employees know the product and talk to customers about it than read a sign, says Meyer. “We’re still in a learning curve with the wine so there the signage helps.

“Eat
Employee education is on-going and can be summed up in a word—“eat. “We tell new hires to stick next to old-timers and learn. It’s very hands on, says Meyer. Every employee is trained in cheese and grocery so they can float easily. Meyer mainly covers the wine department himself, but has a few other employees undergoing training to fill in.

Passion for food and cooking is the common denominator among The Cheese Shop staff, many of whom are long-term employees who have developed a following. “We have people who come in that we all know are ‘Susan’s customers,’ says Meyer. “They don’t want to talk to anyone else.

Coffee and Cheese of the Month Clubs November and December account for nearly 75% of yearly sales in-store. To optimize selection, the staff crams an extra four shelves of product onto the selling floor, and in gift baskets and boxes. “During the year, we send out about 20 gift packs per day, says Meyer. “But around the holidays it’s closer to 400 a day. We put on an extra 35 workers for the season.

Gift baskets are shipped nationally as is the store’s Cheese and Coffee of the Month Clubs, another innovation Meyer implemented. The Cheese Shop sends two different half-pound cheeses or coffees to club members each month, on a three-, six-, or 12-month membership. “The idea is to get the cheese in as many hands as we can. It does generate repeat business. We sent out Gjestost one month and are still getting orders for it.

Meyer is also in the process of revamping and enhancing the store’s Internet site, where they also ship party platters, gift certificates, gift samplers and baskets as well as single orders nationally. In addition to cheese requests, some of the grocery items have taken off. “We’re starting to joke that we’ve become a tea store because sales are so high, he says. While a growing part of the business, the online store will never replace face-to-face interaction. Says Meyer: “My family thinks the website should be 90% of sales. But, to me, the store is my business, a place where I can talk with customers and friends. I’m not in it just to have a job; I like what I do.

Denise Purcell is senior editor of Specialty Food Magazine.