WILLIAMSBURG — The Cheese Shop, located at 410 W. Duke of Gloucester Street in Merchants Square, is still going strong, though it will temporarily stop sandwich-making for a brief period of time.
“We’re a 50-year-old business, and we’ve been doing this a long time. We’re pretty well versed in the importance of keeping our staff healthy,” said General Manager of The Cheese Shop Cathy Power Pattisal in an interview with WYDaily. “This has been a decision that has been coming down the road for a little over a year. These last few weeks of the year our business really is focused on specialty food, cheese, wine, and beer. The sandwich business isn’t quite as busy. So we had to make a decision about where the best place to take a pause was, and that’s the best place for it.”
Cathy Power Pattisal cited that the beloved store has been incredibly busy this year. However, the business currently doesn’t have enough staff to keep up with the increased demand.
“It’s been volume-wise a very busy year for us, but we have almost less than half of the employees we should have,” said Power Pattisal. “That makes it very trying on the people who are here. That’s always been a priority for us, to take care of our employees.”
All other aspects of the business will remain open and carry on business as usual. This means that The Fat Canary, the cheese board, wine shop, and all of the shop’s retail sales will remain open. This means that customers will still be able to purchase the meats and cheeses used to construct their favorite sandwiches of their own.
“There’s no need to panic. House dressing is available, we’re selling sliced meat, we have cheese. I mean, we are The Cheese Shop,” said Cathy Power Pattisal. “We have all those things that people have come to love about us. We’re just going to take a hiatus from the sandwich-making for a short period of time.”
There’s no date as to when The Cheese Shop will stop selling sandwiches.
“It’s not written in stone. It’s based on product and what we have, what kind of staffing we have, but it could be tomorrow,” Cathy Power Pattisal said.
The Cheese Shop is run by the Power family and has been a staple in the Williamsburg community for nearly a half-century. The company has employed hundreds of local residents over the years.
Those looking for more information about The Cheese Shop can visit its website or follow it on social media.
