After nearly closing, Sarasota cheese shop raises capital to remain open

A retail cheese business in Sarasota has had a whirlwind of the past two weeks — going from announcing it would be closing to raising more than $30,000 in one day to now committing to remain open.

Louise Converse, known affectionately as “Cheese Louise," has owned Artisan Cheese Company, which is in the Rosemary District, just north of downtown Sarasota, for 13 years. As bills piled up, the cheese connoisseur thought she was going to have to close her shop. 

However, thanks to the “overwhelming support” Converse says she received from an angel investor and the community, the store will remain in business — with some possible tweaks to the operating model. 

"Yes, we will keep the doors open," Converse tells the Business Observer on May 14.

Converse founded the cheese company in 2012 on Main Street, where it grew in popularity to the point that in 2018, it relocated to the larger space in Rosemary at 550 Central Ave.

“My story is the story of so many small business owners,” Converse says. “We may look like we’re fine, but under the surface, we’re paddling as hard as we can.”

Before, during and after the hurricanes last fall, business died down, Converse recalls. Due to Hurricane Milton in early October, Artisan Cheese Company “lost everything in the kitchen" and its coolers, she says, plus the building sustained air-conditioning damage and leaks in the roof. 

“We thought we’d make it up in the fourth quarter,” Converse says, “but nobody came.”

In early May, she announced to customers by email and in an Instagram video that she was planning to close, citing hurricanes, inflation and financial troubles.

“But then Sarasota showed up. Friday and Saturday were our busiest days ever,” Converse writes on the GoFundMe page she started as what she called a “Hail Mary” measure. “We sold out of everything” May 9 and 10. “Payroll and rent were met. And then a kind angel came forward with help to stop the gap.”

The angel investor coupled with the GoFundMe campaign, which has raised more than $35,000 in less than 24 hours, are keeping Artisan Cheese afloat.

“We’re going to adjust as we go forward so that we can keep the doors wide open,” Converse says during an interview in her store, where every minute or so she stops to greet customers by name.

Busyness does not always equate to success, she cautions. For example, if people are enjoying lunch in the shop, there is labor required to produce the items, which are not her most profitable products.

The past week has been a “rollercoaster,” Converse says, adding the plan is to “reframe” Artisan Cheese Company to focus on its strengths, which include cheese, wine and bread. She may also opt to share the space she leases with another tenant.

“We’re trying to do this carefully,” Converse says of how she plans to move forward. She adds that she is meeting with business consultants and working to put systems in place to secure the future. 

Currently the business has modified its schedule because it is short-staffed. Typically, the store has operated with nine employees. Now, Converse says, she has four staffers and one part-time worker. As a result, the cheese company is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday. It will remain closed Sunday and Monday through the summer, she says.

Her message to the community is that it takes people to support small businesses.

“If we get rid of places like this, then we’re left with big box [stores],” Converse says. “If you want to be a regular, you have to go."

Adds Converse: "There’s a cheese for everybody.”