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It’s the grocery-store equivalent of Daimler’s partnership with Chrysler or Morgan Stanley’s merger with Dean Witter — though perhaps this venture will prove more successful than those mass-meets-class combinations.
Murray’s Cheese, the Greenwich Village artisan cheese shop which has educated generations of New Yorkers on washes and rinds, has partnered with Kroger, the country’s largest supermarket chain, to open stores-within-stores, with three opening in Cincinnati.
There are two Murray’s Cheese stores in New York City, one on Bleecker Street and the second in Grand Central Terminal. The shops in the Kroger stores are designed like the original Murray’s, with red and yellow signs and employee aprons. The first Murray’s in Cincinnati opened in the Kenwood Towne Place Kroger on Tuesday. The next two will open in the Hyde Park and Liberty Township Kroger stores.
As the variety and quality of American cheeses have blossomed in recent years, the passion of American cheese lovers has intensified. Retailers like Murray’s and Bedford Cheese Shop, and restaurants like Artisanal, have helped guide their customers beyond mozzarella and Swiss.
“Their goal is bringing cheese to a wide audience, our goal is to bring cheese to a wide audience,” said Meghan Glynn, a spokeswoman for Kroger. “It’s the customer education component that is really beneficial.” The Kroger employees went through several months of training, which included a 300-page manual and a visit to New York City.
It’s not just cheese education that the supermarkets are bringing in house. For example, last year, the supermarket conglomerate acquired the New York wine retailer Best Cellars, which became an innovator in demystifying wine by its use of categories like “soft” and “juicy” instead of by region or by grape.
Of course, bringing elite brand names into chain stores is a strategy that has been pursued by other retailers. Isaac Mizrahi and Michael Graves have graced Target’s shelves, and H&M had Karl Lagerfeld.
Murray’s Cheese, the Greenwich Village artisan cheese shop which has educated generations of New Yorkers on washes and rinds, has partnered with Kroger, the country’s largest supermarket chain, to open stores-within-stores, with three opening in Cincinnati.
There are two Murray’s Cheese stores in New York City, one on Bleecker Street and the second in Grand Central Terminal. The shops in the Kroger stores are designed like the original Murray’s, with red and yellow signs and employee aprons. The first Murray’s in Cincinnati opened in the Kenwood Towne Place Kroger on Tuesday. The next two will open in the Hyde Park and Liberty Township Kroger stores.
As the variety and quality of American cheeses have blossomed in recent years, the passion of American cheese lovers has intensified. Retailers like Murray’s and Bedford Cheese Shop, and restaurants like Artisanal, have helped guide their customers beyond mozzarella and Swiss.
“Their goal is bringing cheese to a wide audience, our goal is to bring cheese to a wide audience,” said Meghan Glynn, a spokeswoman for Kroger. “It’s the customer education component that is really beneficial.” The Kroger employees went through several months of training, which included a 300-page manual and a visit to New York City.
It’s not just cheese education that the supermarkets are bringing in house. For example, last year, the supermarket conglomerate acquired the New York wine retailer Best Cellars, which became an innovator in demystifying wine by its use of categories like “soft” and “juicy” instead of by region or by grape.
Of course, bringing elite brand names into chain stores is a strategy that has been pursued by other retailers. Isaac Mizrahi and Michael Graves have graced Target’s shelves, and H&M had Karl Lagerfeld.
Mass market for artisanal cheese?
