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Truckle Cheesemongers owner Maggie Bradshaw (Photo by Chelsea Diane Photography)
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Known for offering cut-to-order varieties, along with cheese boards and charcuterie, Truckle Cheesemongers plans to open a retail space and "cheese bar" at 714 N. Sheppard St.
Maggie Bradshaw says she’ll never get sick of cheese. The founder of pop-up turned cheese shop Truckle Cheesemongers is the kind of person who believes that there’s a before-bedtime variety, and that a raw milk Manchego from Spain is one of the best in the world. There is always a hunk of Causses blue in her fridge, and she’s got a soft spot for the creamy seasonal chèvre from Virginia’s Caramont Farms.
“Cheese is so enjoyable, it sets off something in your brain and hits all the right notes, and it feels good,” says Bradshaw, who’s a tried-and-true turophile. “I feel like if you are having a great day, you eat a piece of cheese, and if you’re having a rotten day, eat a piece of cheese.”
On a track of steady expansion, the certified monger who launched her business in 2016 plans take it to the next level this fall. In mid-September, Bradshaw will debut a retail shop, bar and cafe dubbed Truckle Cheesemonger Cheese Bar in the Devil’s Triangle at 714 N. Sheppard St.
Currently selling cut-to-order cheeses from a 200-square-foot counter tucked inside Blue Bee Cider— a residency Bradshaw plans to maintain until the end of the year — Truckle Cheesemongers originally started as a pop-up. Bradshaw joined the Blue Bee’s Scott’s Addition space almost three years ago, and since then, she has introduced a butter club, a monthly cheese subscription service and curated charcuterie boards, from the bountiful “Socializer” to the “Pablo Picasso,” along with fondue packages.
“A nice steady progression, taking a little more on, and little more on — inchworm growth,” says the Kentucky native of her career.
Bradshaw first fell for cheese during a wine and gastronomy course she took in college while studying abroad in Paris and attending Sewanee. Moving to Washington, D.C., post-graduation, the art history major began working in cheese shops and never stopped. Following a stint in Raleigh, North Carolina, Bradshaw and her family moved to Richmond.
“Once you work with cheese and learn more of the science, too, it’s like this big perfect package — always something interesting to learn, and always new cheeses coming out. The cheese community is also really great and small and tight-knit,” says Bradshaw, who produces house-made beer and pimento cheese.
At just under 1,500 square feet, her forthcoming shop promises all the gooey, intriguing goodness Truckle currently offers, while also presenting Bradshaw and her crew with more room to figure out what she dubs “the fun stuff” — salami from small producers, different crackers and crusty breads, and nontraditional accoutrements such as roasted fava beans.
More case space equals more cheeses, and Bradshaw is excited to expand on her repertoire, which features a core group of 10 varieties that patrons can always expect in stock, in addition to a rotating selection.
“I think a big part of having a healthy cheese case is always bringing in new cheeses for people to try and to keep it interesting for customers,” she says, noting that she seeks a balanced representation both of cheese families and geographical origins.
The shop will also be home to a dedicated charcuterie case, as well as butter. An eight-person counter has been anointed the “cheese bar,” where patrons can order everything from flights of cheese, beer and wine to a single glass paired with accoutrements.
Breakfast will present a range of breads and pastries, with Bradshaw channeling the sort of environment that encourages a morning pop-in or a quick coffee meeting, while being able to transform at night into a low-key hangout or where people can stop for a pre-dinner glass of wine and a cheese flight.
“My husband and I took a trip to Rome for our anniversary, and my favorite place we visited was this little tiny bruschetta bar, and we would go for afternoon snack and afternoon wine or beer,” Bradshaw says.
Hoping to instill aha moments in her customers and to showcase everything from a French Camembert that stinks up the fridge or a Gouda-esque Galax from Virginia’s Meadow Creek Dairy, Bradshaw believes this next step is a natural evolution for her business and her teams, as well as a mark of the cheese industry’s growth.
“Really in the last 20-ish years, I think the American market for good quality cheese has increased, and people expect that they’ll be able to find better cheese, but especially in Richmond, having the American Cheese Society annual conference here [in 2018] really got people interested,” she says. “The Richmond area just has a lot of hunger for really good food.”
