Who: Owners Strom Peterson and Maria Montalvo.
What: A store filled with more than 100 varieties of cheese from 10 to 12 countries, as well as gourmet snacks and cheese-related accessories. The shop also sells made-to-order plowman’s lunches, and holds cheese tastings every Saturday.
Dan Bates / The Herald
Where: 405 Main St., downtown Edmonds.
Founded: In June.
Employees: Family operation with two part-time employees.
Why cheese? Peterson, who also owns Olives Cafe and Wine Bar in Edmonds, said deciding to open a cheese shop was inspired by his passion for the dairy food. “Over the years, having a chance to travel around Europe and the U.S., I’ve discovered the world of cheese. The timing was great, with the specialty food movement and people getting out of their fear of fat.”
Biggest challenge during startup: Peterson has been juggling the responsibilities of his two businesses, and even for City Council at the same time, but lost in last month’s primary. He’s also worked to educate customers about cheese, which is as complex as wine in the number of varieties and tastes.
Biggest challenge during the next 12 months: Peterson said even as his sales and staff expand, he wants to be able to keep providing one-on-one service in the shop – a dilemma he thinks most small merchants face.
Notable: If you think cheeses are limited to either white or yellow, the Resident Cheesemonger is an eye-opening experience. Hot trends in cheese include goat’s milk cheeses and American-made specialty cheeses. “Almost every state is now making tremendous cheese,” Peterson said.
Quotable: “One of the most fun parts of the job will be when someone comes in and talks about how they went to Tuscany 10 years ago and had this wonderful cheese there, and you can show them what they had and it takes them back to that experience. … Then you get some people hooked on a cheese, and getting them away from it is like pulling teeth,” Peterson said.
Contact: 425-640-8949 or www.residentcheesemonger .com.
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