by Austin Coe Butler
France 44 and our sister shop, the St. Paul Cheese Shop, are two of the only cut-to-order cheese shops in the Twin Cities. As cut-to-order shops, we do just that, we cut your cheese when you order it. That means you always get the freshest cheese at the amount you want. Most cheese counters sell pre-cuts or pre-wraps of cheese, cheese that was cut, wrapped in plastic, and put into the case days or even weeks before you buy it. These plastic-wrapped precuts are attractively lit and appeal with their meretricious convenience, but in terms of taste, they’re seriously lacking. Overtime, light oxidizes cheese and plastic smothers it, leaving the cheese tasting like a refrigerator, or worse, like nothing at all. When you buy from a cut to order shop like us though, not only is it fresh, but you can sample it to know how delicious it is!
Beyond these considerations for the quality and flavor of the cheese you buy, I’d argue that there’s something even more important than flavor that you get when you buy cheese from us (as if cheese wasn’t enough already): community.
Community is a popular word these days, often abstracted in platitudes and on political stages in broad appeals. As a small, now 4th-generation family-owned business, community is real, and we’re a part of it. Our business doesn’t work without it. When you come to our counters, you get to interact with one of our incredible cheesemongers who will listen to what you like, help you find what you’re looking for, or share with you what they’re loving. It’s this conversation that’s at the heart of what we do. During the pandemic, this was brought sharply into focus. For many of us and our customers, the interactions we shared together at the cheese counter were the only social interaction we would have that day.
We’re also a part of a community of artisans and other small businesses that we partner with to bring you the best cheese from at home and abroad. There’s a name, a face, and a story to every cheese we carry. When you buy cheese from us, you don’t just participate in that community, you become part of it. Consider our upcoming event with Andy Hatch where you get to sit down and have dinner with Andy before selecting the batches of Pleasant Ridge Reserve we will sell. I know of no other shop in the country(!) that shares its cheese counter so intimately with its community.
To celebrate this incredible Twin Cities community we’re a part of, and the makers, mongers, and mammals we work with. every single cheese in the case is 15% off! Come buy an old favorite and try a sample of a new one. Whatever you get, you won’t be disappointed, and you’ll keep supporting this incredible community.