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CHEEESE FOCUS
around the world." The task of a specialty food merchant is to smooth the path from creator to consumer, he says, to be "an ambassador for artisan producers."
Product Mix…Cheese may be front and center at Rubiner's, but a wide assortment of specialty foods lure shoppers. On an antique Provencal monastery table is a carefully curated array of sweets, such as Summerdown Mints from England, Valerie Confections toffee from Los Angeles, Koeze Cream-Nuts peanut butter clusters from Michigan and Mast Brothers chocolate from Brooklyn, N.Y. A French baker's rack holds wares from Our Daily Bread, a nearby bak- ery. A refrigerator stocks sodas, pickles, kimchee and yogurt. Mahogany shelving displays dry goods such as spices and salts, grains and heirloom Rancho Gordo beans,
canned goods, cookies, crackers, condiments and olive oils. Copper tins store bulk teas. At
the cheese counter, hard wheels
reside on a hefty slab of locally quarried stone. These include Cabot Clothbound and Shelburne Farms cheddars, Kirkham's Lancashire and Red Leicester, Alpine chees- es such as Hoch Ybrig, regional selections such as Trappist-style Bridgid's Abbey from Cato Corner and a variety of Goudas and pecorinos. Bloomy-rind goat cheeses, such as crottins and Vermont Butter & Cheese Coupole, are unwrapped and displayed on the stone under glass domes. "We never stack the cheeses higher than our chest," says Rubiner. "We don't want that imposing wall that makes it seem like the staff is hid- ing behind it." In a six-foot coffin case, Rubiner keeps the cheeses that require refrigeration, with
Rubiner created a large
island for cheese in the center of his store—"very much
like a stage," he says. "We stand in the middle and the customers gather around."
bigger cheeses in back and smaller ones in front. All cheese is cut to order, and selec- tions typically number about 125. "That's determined by what we can
keep in perfect condition, given our volume of sales and limitations of space," Rubiner explains. "I don't see the need to sell every- thing. If there's not a Camembert that I can stand behind, I don't sell Camembert." Every day, the staff designates one
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