Gourmet Home

Reason to Cheer? Depends on Where You Live

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce polled small business owners about the state of the economy during the third quarter last fall and found that most were optimistic about increasing revenue in 2018. Most also said their local economies were strong. About one-quarter of those businesses surveyed were retailers. Increased confidence in local economies and the health of small…

Le Petite Gourmet Shoppe

Location: La Grange, Texas Founded: 2006 Owner: Donella Dopslaug-Cernosek Square footage: 7,200, including 5,000 sq. ft. of retail space La Grange, Texas, is a small place with a big kitchenware store. At 7,200 sq. ft., Le Petite Gourmet Shoppe has more square feet of retail space than there are people in the town. While owner Donella Dopslaug-Cernosek says that…

Stats: Chocolate, The Perfect Gift

Even retailers who focus on mostly hard goods, stock at least some specialty chocolate. Whether merchandised as an impulse purchase at the cash register, championed through a much wider display or included as part of a gift basket, retailers know that chocolate sells, and not only on Valentine’s Day. The overall U.S. market for confectionary products boasts sales of $36…

Retail Profile: The Chopping Block

Retail Profile: The Chopping Block Owner: Shelley Young Location: Chicago Square feet: 12,000, spread over two locations (Lincoln Square and The Merchandise Mart), including six different kitchens Founded: 1997 Twenty years ago, chef Shelley Young opened a small store, more like a cottage, in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood to teach cooking classes and maybe sell…

Stats: Shopping Makes Consumers Anxious

Retail therapy isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. A new survey shows that shopping, especially around the holidays, makes Americans anxious. The survey gives specialty retailers a glimpse into the minds of their customers during the busiest business time of the year, but also holds up after the tinsel and decorations are put away. Even though they enjoyed the holidays and…

Stats: Holiday Shopping Predictions

Is the fourth quarter going to bring coal or toys to retailers this year? With an uptick in the economy improving consumer confidence and a 3.2 percent rise in the incomes of middle class Americans, (as reported by the U.S. census bureau in August), signs are good that retailers are on track to get toys in their stockings. Or at least some cash. According to research…

Fermentation Bubbles as Trend

Brooklyn, N.Y. —home to the artisanal pickle set—should also be the hot bed of home fermentation, but retailers in that city are split about whether they see a trend out there. “Unfortunately, it never caught on here,” says Jennifer Baron, owner of A Cook’s Companion on Atlantic Avenue. “Maybe I was too ahead of things, but Brooklyn Kitchen has been very successful. However,…

Retail Profile: Rhubarb Kitchen Shop

“I still feel like the new kid,” says Ellen Kluge as she celebrates her store’s 25th year in business. “But apparently I’m not.” Even though Kluge has been with the store, Rhubarb Kitchen Shop, since she first welcomed customers as its manager in 1992, the excitement she feels running the store and greeting customers has never waned. “I’ve been happy,” she says. She’s…

Stats: Wellspring for Hydration

Consumers are taking their water with them—whether they are hiking, going to the gym or even heading into the office—and products that help with that are selling well. That’s according to a recent study by The NPD Group Inc., which reports that Hydration represents a $345.7 million dollar growth category for the outdoors industry. But kitchenware retailers can ‘tap’ into the…