News
I love the Upper West Side April 28 2017
This week I had the pleasure of working with Annette Akers, a local UWS resident and real estate agent. Annette was filming a series of videos highlighting shops around the neighborhood and I was very honored that she decided to focus an ‘episode’ on Julie’s Beet. The interview got me a thinking a lot about my business and asked questions that I know the answers to but maybe you do not.
Here is a preview of my interview with Annette. I’ll be sure to let you know when her videos are live so you can like, share and comment on them.
- How long have you been in business? What does your business do? Who do you cater to?
We just celebrated our 2 year anniversary on April 14. Julie’s Beet is a Gourmet Food Marketplace specializing in smaller producers. We look for the hidden gems of the culinary world and don’t want to carry the same products you’ll see on the shelves of your local supermarket. We cater to cooks, eaters, and gourmets.
- How do you curate products? Tell me a little about your artisans.
I opened our marketplace with products made by friends and friends of friends. Since then I keep my eyes open for the next big thing and am always looking for something unique and different. La Boîte Spices was one of our first artisans and I’ve known Lior for years. I also used to work at Rococo Chocolates in London and knew I needed their products in my marketplace.
- What are some of the ways you use the products?
I use our products everyday. Jacobsen Salt Co.’s Kosher Salt is an easy one since I use it on everything from salting my pasta water to sprinkling on my salad for lunch. The same is true of D.a.T. Sauce… it is a hot sauce that you can put on almost everything. I love thinking outside of the box on how to use our products and have a recipe section on the website to help others know how to use them.
- What made you choose the UWS to set up shop?
The Upper West Side was an easy choice for me as it is close to home. I’ve spent most of my time living in New York City on the Upper West Side and the neighborhood feels like home to me. It has just the right amount of hustle and bustle for someone from the Midwest.
- What’s in store for the future?
In the future, I hope to expand the hours at our showroom at 210 West 80th Street and I am always looking for new artisans to add to our marketplace.
- How is the UWS changing for the better?
I see lots of big residential buildings going up in the neighborhood which means more people are moving uptown. That is bringing some great restaurants and shops to the area both big and small.
Happy Friday,
Julie
Celebrate our 2nd Anniversary! April 14 2017
Wow! I cannot believe that two years ago today I hit the button that made the Julie’s Beet Website Live! That’s right, today marks our second anniversary. I’m not sure I knew exactly what I was getting into 2 years ago but it has been an amazing adventure. The best part has been getting to share my knowledge of food and our amazing artisans with all of you.
In honor of our second anniversary we are having a Two is Always Better than One Sale. This is true of shoes, socks, glasses of wine and the products from our marketplace. We’ve featured products from artisans who joined the collection in our second year. Just add any of their products to your cart between now and April 30 and we’ll automatically add a second product from the same artisan to your shipment at no extra charge. That gives you two times the opportunity to taste and experiment with these amazing items. The artisans included in the sale are Artion Greek Foods, Cacao Prieto, Due Cellucci Tomato Sauces, EssieSpice, Paul + Pippa, Rick’s Picks and Tiny But Mighty Popcorn. You can shop the entire sale here. Visit our Facebook page during the sale to learn more about each of these artisan.
Who knows what the next 365 days will bring but I know I cannot find out. What will the new food trends be? What new artisans will be find to add to the marketplace? I hope you’ll stick with me for the journey ahead.
Happy Friday,
Julie