FOR LOVE AND MEANINGFUL MOMENTS

 CHI-CUTERIE 321 Franklin St., Geneva (331) 901-0474 www.chi-cuterie.com

ForLove and MEANINGFULMoments

Local charcuterie board maestros, Chi-cuterie, strengthen their ties to the community with a new space and homegrown support

By Jamie Baker | Photos provided by Susan Ryan Photography F F rom a shared kitchen to a bona fide brick-and-mortar, owner Michelle Parker’s wildly successful Chi-cuterie is fortifying the foundation of the Geneva community while creating a meaningful business and supporting local vendors with unwavering dedication. “We worked out of a shared kitchen, originally, and the request from our customers and the community was overwhelming in that they wanted us to have a brick-and-mortar space to expand our offerings and our retail shopping experience for them,” said Parker. “We decided to go all in and do this fulltime in the community with a brick-and-mortar store.” The expansion has created a golden opportunity for the store to provide more products and services. “Now we are doing charcuterie building workshops, both private and public, as well as wine and cheese pairing,” said Parker. “We’re going to be adding additional workshops with other topics such as bourbon tasting, food, wine and entertaining, so stay tuned on that.” Support for local vendors and artists shines throughout Chi-cuterie, from local meats, cheeses, and accoutrements to craft beverages, these vendors are the cornerstone to their business. “We have clearly expanded our retail space offering for anything that has to do with the meats and cheeses we build our boards with that are locally sourced,” said Parker. “We try to support as many local farmers, artisans and small businesses as we can and love, passion and support of local people goes into everything we create.” Unequivocal care is clearly present in their selection of libations. “We’ve expanded to selling a collection of curated wines that we had a wine expert help us to develop,” said Parker. “So, they are curated to pair with what we sell here and the boards we create. We’ve since added bourbon, whiskey and other spirits. We’re working with Art History and Penrose on serving beer as well.” Artisanal support is especially important as the holidays draw near. “We’ve added a lot of gift-giving items from holiday napkins, plates and serving pieces to gift wraps, tags and cards that are all locally created from artisans around the Midwest,” said Parker. “We have about four different artisans that we brought in to make our wooden boards. We even have some dried flower arrangements from a local farm along with jams and honeys. We have close to 100 artisans, farmers, and small businesses represented in our offerings." For Geneva and Chi-cuterie, it was love at first sight and that devotion has only strengthened over time. “We are so touched,” said Parker. “Every day the support, the love, and the feedback we’re getting from the local community has been amazing. It speaks volumes to us to see the amount of customers that come back time and time again.” Overall, it’s the love Parker and her staff put into their work that drives Chicuterie’s success. “Customers recognize that ‘thoughtful’ part of our tagline, and they can see how we thoughtfully create,” said Parker. “We truly think about the people who are receiving the boxes or boards. You never know what someone’s going through and being thoughtful can really make a difference.”