November 13, 2015
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Metcalfe’s highlights Wisconsin-made products in its cheese departments
Wauwatosa remodel will double number of cheeses available

LOCAL SELECTION — The cheese department at the Hilldale Metcalfe’s Market in Madison, Wisconsin, features about 300 kinds of cheese, including about 150 Wisconsin artisan varieties.

READY TO HELP — Jeanne Carpenter, left, specialty cheese buyer for Metcalfe’s Market, and Anna Landmark, a Wisconsin licensed cheesemaker working for Metcalfe’s during her off-season, answer questions and sample cheese for shoppers at Metcalfe’s Hilldale store.

By Kate Sander

MADISON, Wis. — With the holiday shopping season upon us, Madison, Wisconsin-area consumers looking for just the right local cheese to share with friends and family have an abundance to choose from at Metcalfe’s Market.

Metcalfe’s is a fourth-generation, family-owned and operated neighborhood market with two stores in Madison — one in the Hilldale area and the other on Madison’s west side near West Towne Mall. The company also owns a store in Wauwatosa that is in the process of remodeling its cheese department and doubling the department’s size.

At any one time, Metcalfe’s marquee Hilldale cheese department will be carrying about 150 Wisconsin artisan cheeses, says Jeanne Carpenter, Metcalfe’s specialty cheese buyer. The store also carries a handful of cheeses from other states and 50-75 imports.

“We carry cheeses that a well-rounded cheese department needs to have,” Carpenter says.

However, it’s in the local cheeses where Metcalfe’s really shines.

“We work hard to partner with local up-and-coming cheesemakers,” Carpenter says. “We go the extra mile for little cheesemakers. People who shop at Metcalfe’s are dedicated to supporting Wisconsin cheesemakers.”

Much of the cheese the department handles Metcalfe’s cheesemongers cut and wrap themselves, but some are prepackaged specialty cheeses such as cheeses from nearby University of Wisconsin’s Babcock Hall and the upwards of 30 kinds of Feta the department carries. All told, the selection in Hilldale Metcalfe’s cheese department numbers about 300 with additional bulk pre-packaged cheese available in the store’s dairy case.

Though the store has been in business for four generations, it’s only been in the past decade that the company has become known as a one-stop shop for Wisconsin cheese.

When the Hilldale store was being remodeled about eight years ago, the original plans didn’t call for a specialty cheese department. At the last minute, Tim Metcalfe, company president, scrapped the plans and had them redrawn to feature a specialty cheese department in the front of the store.

Jim Meier, sales manager, says company management had noticed what nearby competition was doing in the cheese business, and Metcalfe’s decided it could do it better by focusing not just on artisan but on Wisconsin cheese at the front of the store. To that end, a 16-foot case featuring all Wisconsin-made cheeses became the centerpiece of the new cheese department. Looking at trends throughout the country, Metcalfe’s designed the cheese department — and other specialty departments in the store including floral and seafood — to be fresh and inviting. Lighting was deemed highly important and if people look up at the ceiling in the cheese department they find the lighting is reminiscent of Swiss cheese in keeping with the department theme.

While the company doesn’t disclose its cheese sales, the success of the Hilldale store’s cheese department led the company to put a large specialty cheese department in its new West Towne store, a former Cub Foods store on Mineral Point Road it purchased and remodeled in 2012, Meier says.

Located just a few miles apart, the clientele at the two stores is a bit different, Carpenter says, and the West Towne department doesn’t have the exact same selection as the Hilldale store. For example, West Towne store shoppers favor flavored varieties, so the department there carries more of those. It’s not as big as the Hilldale department, but “we’re working on making it as fabulous as the Hilldale store,” Carpenter says.

To offer the wide selection of cheeses that it does, Carpenter works directly with cheesemakers from throughout the state.

“Many cheesemakers ship directly to us, two to three wheels at a time,” Carpenter says. “Several of them drive it to us, and the staff gets to meet with the cheesemakers. When they come in, we’re all very excited … it’s like seeing a celebrity.”

Once the cheese is cut and wrapped, the goal is to move it in no more than two weeks’ time so that it is of optimum quality, Carpenter says. To introduce new cheeses, Metcalfe’s features signage in the department on who makes the cheese and what kind it is.

Handwritten chalkboard signs also feature cheesemonger picks of the week, Carpenter says — noting that those choices aren’t made based on what cheese the store might want to move.
“The cheesemongers literally get to pick what cheese is good right now,” she says.

Sampling also is key in any successful cheese department, Carpenter says.

“We’ll sample anything, and nine times out of 10 people will buy it on the spot,” she says.

As cheese department manager, Carpenter believes in cross-merchandising as well. For example, she works closely with the company’s wine managers to develop pairings, including a display currently in the store that features nine cheeses paired with nine wines.

“We’re very fortunate to have a wine manager that helps the cheese department look good,” she says.

She also pairs with the bakery. Last month, the store did a pie promotion and, playing off the old-fashioned tradition of having a slice of Cheddar with the pie, the department displayed Hook Cheese’s One-Year Cheddar next to the pie.

For the holidays, Metcalfe’s for the second year will be offering a “build your own” gift box station with white cardboard boxes. Customers can shop the whole store and build gift boxes, paying for the products in the box and getting the box for free. Last year, the Hilldale store went through 300 boxes, she says.

Classes and formal tastings also bring customers into Metcalfe’s stores. For example, last month author Gordon Edgar and Carpenter led a one-hour class on American Cheddar in the cafe at the West Towne store. In celebration of the release of Gordon’s new book, Cheddar: A Journey to the Heart of America’s Most Iconic Cheese, the class featured four American Cheddars and an autographed copy of Edgar’s book.

Running a successful cheese department is labor intensive and physically taxing, Carpenter says, noting it also requires staff who know the products.

“I really try to hire people who are either passionate about learning or already have knowledge of cheese,” Carpenter says.

Sometimes that means not just supporting cheesemakers by buying their products; sometimes it means hiring them to be cheesemongers during their off seasons.

Currently, two of Metcalfe’s part-time cheesemongers are cheesemakers hailing from Landmark Creamery, Albany, Wisconsin, and Dreamfarm, Cross Plains, Wisconsin. Having experienced cheesemakers on staff is mutually beneficial, Carpenter says, because Metcalfe’s customers are excited to be buying cheese from knowledgeable cheesemakers and the cheesemakers learn more about consumers. Other cheesemongers sometimes come from the Madison College culinary arts program.

“It’s a lot of work, but it’s so much fun,” Carpenter says of running a department that’s known as the best of the best. “Everyone wants to work in the cheese department.”

With the success of the two Madison stores, Metcalfe’s is now remodeling its Wauwatosa store and a new feature, to open early next year, will be a large specialty cheese department.

Carpenter currently is helping that store’s department manager in preparing staff for the big upgrade.

“We’re changing it from a small portion of the deli to the first thing when you come into the store,” Carpenter says, noting the space will allow the store to double the amount of cheese it carries.

“We already sell a lot of cheese there, and with a lot more space we can sell a lot more cheese. It’s exciting!”

CMN