WINTER
©
2020
Crave
Brothers
Farmstead
Cheese
LLC
rare selections, and show exactly what a
quarter-pound wedge looks like. Orders
are picked up curbside or can be shipped
nationwide. Customer response, initially
strong, has tailed off a bit but Antonelli
believes the shop will continue to offer
the service even after it reopens to
in-person traffic.
Virtual classes and events became
a major revenue stream for the Texas
merchant as the pandemic persisted,
mushrooming from zero to 15 or 20
bookings a week. "Virtual events
literally kept our business alive," says
Antonelli. Class participants pick up,
curbside, a plate with seven cheeses
and accompaniments and then follow
along at home as a store employee leads
the online tasting. Although suitable
solely for locals because the composed
plates can't be shipped, the classes have
generated new audiences, says Antonelli.
"They have created accessibility for people
who couldn't physically make it into our
shop before," says the merchant. "Parents
of infants have said, 'We can't leave our
baby. Please keep offering these. It's the
first time we've been able to participate.'"
A more ambitious offering,
christened "Cheese Class in a Box,"
includes seven cheeses, paired
accompaniments, and a short video
instructing participants how to set up
their plate. Customers who purchase
a dozen boxes or more can schedule a
private tasting session with Kendall or
John. One customer who
had just completed cancer
treatment and wanted to
celebrate sent boxes to
friends and family and
scheduled a live tasting with
the Antonellis. A similar
class-in-a-box featuring
cheese and chocolate is in
development.
Online à la Carte
Like many others, the
Antonellis sold gift
baskets and cheese trays
online pre-pandemic but
resisted putting individual
merchandise on the store website to
discourage price shopping. They have
relented and now offer à la carte online
ordering, allowing customers to select items
individually, from cheeses to chocolate bars.
"I don't think this is something we can ever
take back," says Antonelli.
In San Francisco, Ray Bair of Cheese
Plus has had the same epiphany: shopping
from home is unlikely to end when the
pandemic does. "You'd be a dinosaur if
you didn't try to get into that market," says
Bair. "I'm very traditional, but I've realized
I can't be the one guy out here screaming,
'Don't shop online.'" Bair recently signed
PHOTO CHEESE PLUS
PHOTO HAYDEN WALKER
John and Kendall Antonelli of Antonelli's
Cheese Shop closed their shop to the
public but found success with virtual
cheesemongering events.
