![]() “And in the winter, more hard cheese so you can make things like fondue.” “In the summer, I’ll carry more soft cheeses and fresh cheese,” she said. It’s things like that – really knowing about the cheese’s origins.” She’s planning to carry between 60 and 100 imported and domestic cheeses, from what she considers “staples” (manchego from Spain, Stilton from England, the aforementioned pantaleo) to other cheeses that will offer something new. Why is it so salty? Because the cows live on the coast and their drinking water has sea salt in it. For instance, pantaleo is a Sardinian goat’s milk cheese from Italy. “You also have to understand flavor profiles,” she said, “and you have to know the location, animal and type of cheese. The usual role of being someone who knows how to cut, handle and store cheese. To be a true cheesemonger, she explained, you have to go beyond ![]() “I grew up on a Midwestern diet, thinking that ‘good cheese’ was Cracker Barrel,” Potts laughed. “I want it to be an educational space as well, so that people can learn more about cheese.” “The place needs to have some familiarity, yet be exotic enough that people are interested in coming back,” she said. “They own Decka Digital, a commercial printing company, so they know all about entrepreneurship,” Potts said.įunding the venture with a combination of her own savings and some bank financing, she found “the perfect spot” on Mitchell Street downtown and began putting together her plan. They offered to have her stay with them until she could find a local apartment and a place to locate her cheese shop. Her parents became the driving force behind her move back to Petoskey. “My parents said, ‘why are you waiting to open a cheese shop when you retire? Just open it now!’ But I said, ‘I’m 22, I can’t do that!’” Potts recalled. When Potts was uncertain about what to do next, the obvious path seemed to be cheese. I started doing more research on my own, and kind of got obsessed with cheese.” “I loved how much there was to learn about cheese from start to finish. “While working there, I fell in love with cutting cheese, pairing cheese, making funky food pairings,” Potts said. One of Pastoral’s co-owners is Greg O’Neill, chairman of the board of the American Cheese Society, while the other is Ken Miller, celebrity restaurant consultant. While attending Columbia College in Chicago, Potts’ day job was at Pastoral Artisan Cheese, Bread and Wine. “Then I realized, well, at least when I retire, I know that I can open a cheese shop, so I have that part figured out.” “I thought, ‘what am I going to do with the rest of my life?’” she said. She’s opening a brand new cheese shop in downtown Petoskey this October, and she's aiming to become Petoskey’s best cheesemonger.Īfter graduation, Potts quickly found herself in limbo. While other new grads might have their eyes on a corner office in the big city, Potts has her eye on only one thing: cheese. Katie Potts graduated from Columbia College this past May with a degree in business and entrepreneurship.
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