Cheese Focus: Chantal's Cheese Shop

Anaïs Saint-André Loughran and Chris Loughran met in 2011 when both were servers at Balthazar in New York City. They married six months after meeting, resettled in Pittsburgh (where Chris went to college) and began working toward their vision: a retail shop where the French-born Anaïs could satisfy her passion for cheese. The couple opened Chantal’s Cheese Shop, named for Anaïs’ mother, in 2018.

Location choice: The couple bought a small three-story building near their home, in a lively Little Italy-type neighborhood where they liked to shop. The retail space, about 400 square feet, is on one floor; a classroom and office are upstairs; and a basement provides room for storage and a freezer for mozzarella curd and baked Brie. “There were no cheese shops in Pittsburgh,” said Anaïs. “It seemed like a good opportunity.”

Staffing practices: Anaïs and Chris are hands-on operators. She teaches the tasting classes and develops the relationships with producers. He does the office work and cheese buying. They have two full-time employees and no part-timers.

“We’ve never relied on part-time employment,” said Chris. “We have a big educational focus that requires a commitment on the part of staff, and we try to reciprocate that commitment. Our staff is salaried, they work a four-day week and that includes three hours of study time.” Employees receive two weeks of paid vacation and, after two years, the shop will pay for their Certified Cheese Professional exam.

Merchandising approach: Chantal’s is a cut-to-order shop, with 80 to 120 cheeses in an 8-foot deli case. Despite Anaïs’ French upbringing, more than 50 percent of the selection is domestic, much of it purchased directly from small producers. Favorites include Wisconsin’s Blakesville Creamery, Parish Hill Creamery in Vermont, and the Farm at Doe Run in Pennsylvania. About 60 percent of the selection is stable year-round. 

Apart from keeping blue cheeses together, the couple aren’t sticklers about grouping by type. “It’s more of an aesthetic flow,” said Chris, with bigger cheeses in the back of the case and smaller cheeses in front. No cheese has a permanent home. “Moving cheeses helps customers discover something new,” said Anaïs. “Otherwise, they go back to the same cheese over and over. Now, when they’re looking for their cheese, we can say we have this other one you should try.”

Engaging directly with customers is key to the shop’s educational mission. It’s why the couple has kept information on signage at a minimum, with no sensory descriptions.

“It doesn’t build a strong relationship between monger and customers to have all the information on the sign,” said Chris. “It’s a lot more intimate to have that conversation.”

Sampling strategy: “I’m adamant that people should sample,” said Anaïs. “Every time we sample, we make a sale, and it’s an occasion to talk about the producers. It’s all about storytelling. Each product we have has a story.”

Every Saturday they select a product to highlight and sample at a demo station, with notes about the producer. The couple is persuaded that the investment they make in sampling is more than repaid in sales. They also use sampling to steer customers to cheeses at peak ripeness that need to move. “We have no waste,” said Anaïs. “If we get excited about it, it becomes a bestseller.”

Revenue streams: “If we only had a cheese shop, I don’t think we would succeed,” said Anaïs. She taught 112 cheese classes last year in the upstairs classroom, which can handle a dozen guests, but the couple also do off-premise events. The classes have “by far the highest margins of anything we do,” said Chris, “and it’s the best opportunity to charge for our time.”

In-store cheese sales account for about half the annual revenue. A subscription cheese box effort is a “baby business,” said Anaïs, still unproven as the couple grapples with the costs and logistics of shipping. Cheese platters are a double-digit contributor, albeit with a steep learning curve.

“We were making too many and not charging enough,” admitted Chris. Holiday demand was overwhelming. “I made 220 plates in a week and a half, 85 on Christmas Eve. There was definitely a moment when we thought, ‘Is this worth doing?’” A more rigorous and realistic approach to pricing has helped make execution more sustainable. In keeping with their educational mission, a pamphlet explaining the cheese selection accompanies every platter.

The shop also rents raclette machines and provides appropriate cheese and charcuterie for an additional per-person price.

Pricing theory: Conversations with independent retailers around the country helped shape the couple’s convictions about their pricing. “We learned ahead of time that we can’t afford to sell at smaller margins,” said Chris. “We can’t afford the strategy of the larger retailers. It’s about having confidence that you can sell things that are super-expensive. We sell cheese at the holidays that’s over $60 a pound. We sell jamón iberico that’s $100 a pound.”

Customers rarely object to high prices when they’re properly informed, said Anaïs. Explaining why the cheese is so costly and being willing to cut a two-ounce portion will often yield a sale. 

“We have no minimums,” said Anaïs. “You can buy as little as you want, even an eighth of a pound if that’s what you can afford. We have students who come every week and buy little pieces of cheese. It’s important not to deny people who want to discover something new. They’ll buy jamón iberico, but they’ll buy two slices. Is that annoying? Maybe, but then you see how happy they are.” 

Trending now: “In the past year we saw a big uptick in melted cheese” said Chris. “Raclette was a big deal for us, twice as much as in the past. Fondue moves a lot of fantastic alpine cheeses.” 

Tough challenges: “No one wants to deliver to us,” said Anaïs. “We’re too far from Philly and Chicago. And the biggest distributors want you to buy a pallet. That’s why we deal with farms directly.” As more young cheese professionals open small shops outside of major cities, the need for affordable distribution solutions will only grow, said the couple. 

Lessons learned: “Anyone who starts a small business is going to have a bunch of ‘duh’ moments,” said Chris. “I wish we had priced the cheese plates right to begin with. We were paying for labor we didn’t plan to pay for. Be able to realize when you’re not doing something the best way and adapt quickly.” 

Future plans: “We take a lot of inspiration from the Zingerman’s model,” said Chris. “We don’t want to open another shop, but we want to support our employees’ creativity. We have an employee now who makes in-house pickles, cashew spreads, and veggie pâtés, and we are looking to expand that into packaged products we could sell elsewhere.”