Farmstead yields vineyard site

LITTLE COMPTON, R.I.-In an attempt to build sales during the slow summer retailing season, Farmstead, a Providence, R.I.-based cheese retailer, opened a satellite location at Sakonnet Vineyards here June 11.

The 150-square-foot store, located in the vineyard's tasting room here, sells picnic fare including cheese, paté, salami, fig cakes, olives, crackers, chutneys, cheese knives and cutting boards, in a 6-foot refrigerated case and two 5foot shelf-stable displays.

Matt Jennings, owner and cheesemonger for the 11-month-old cheese shop, said the new store came about from a desire to round out sales during slower summer months.

"The Providence location dies down a little in the summer," he said.

Sakonnet's Marketing Director Katrina Eichenfeldt approached Jennings with the idea.

"I had a read an article about Matt in the Providence Journal and read he was originally from Little Compton (R.I.)," she said. Eichenfeldt approached Jennings to offer Sakonnet Vineyards wines for Jennings' cheese and wine pairing classes.

The wine and cheese pairings evolved into Eichenfeldt's idea to build a Farmstead store at the vineyard.

"We wanted to be able to sell food without getting into the restaurant business," she said. "So far, it has been very well received."

The Sakonnet Vineyards location operates seasonally from Memorial Day through Labor Day on Wednesdays through Sundays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Farmstead also participates in three local farmer's markets in Providence, Newport, and Middletown, R.I., on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday, respectively.

"If they can't have the New England cheesemakers there, this is the next best thing," he said.

New England cheeses are complimented by locally produced jams, jellies and chutneys by Gory's Kitchen; pasta by Prima Pasta, Middletown, R.I.; cow's milk brie and camembert from Smiling Hill Farm, Westbrook, Maine; blue and other cow's milk cheeses by Jasper Hill Farm in Greensboro, Vt.; and cutting boards from Portsmouth, N.H.

Copyright United Publications, Inc. Aug 2004
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