Laura Peters
The News Leader
Published 1:27 p.m. UTC Jun 11, 2018
The Cheese Shop in Stuarts Draft is expanding and get ready for the Blues and Brews Festival this weekend — here’s the buzz.
Cheese
The Cheese Shop in Stuarts Draft is adding more square footage to its store. This means more space and more food options.
Gary Eavers Jr. and his family have owned and operated the shop since 2006.
But, the shop started on back porch of the Hershberger family in the early 1960’s. The Hershbergers would bring cheese back their home state of Ohio to share with the residents of Stuarts Draft.
In the early 1980’s the Beiler family purchased The Cheese Shop and expanded the bulk foods selection, moving the store into the basement of his home. The present store was built in the early 1990s.
It’s been almost a year in the making, but the expansion broke ground in April. The new space will bring in 4,000 square feet of extra space and will allow for an in-house deli that will serve sandwiches, soups and more. The expansion will also allow for an indoor eating area and wrap-around porch outside with seating area.
“We wanted to make it more of a destination and have people spend some more time here,” Eavers said.
The expansion will also allow for larger restrooms, more floors space and a remodel in the store. The Cheese Shop will remain open during all construction, Eavers said.
With the additional space, Eavers said the baker they use will now have a space in-house and there will also have a made-to-order doughnut shop connected in the retail space.
The expansion is expected to be complete by mid-September.
“We’re not changing out products,” Eavers said. “And we’re not looking to add any new products at first. We’ll have the ability to add that as we grow. Our operation isn’t going to change, it’s just our look and the fact that we will be offering more service-oriented things and an experience.”
The Cheese Shop is located at 2366 Tinkling Spring Rd. in Stuarts Draft.
Blues
The Blues and Brews Festival will kick off its 10th year Saturday at 2 p.m. Now in its second year at the Club at Ironwood in Staunton, the festival is bringing in various band from across the country including a big act — Samantha Fish.
John Huggins, the creator of the event and Shenandoah Concerts, said by moving the location of the festival and the time of the festival has helped.
“I think it’s good because there’s not many festivals this time of year and people haven’t really started their vacations yet,” he said.
The festival has seen four different homes. In 2015, Huggins decided to move the festival from the Frontier Culture Museum to downtown Staunton’s Wharf area. It first started at Oak Grove Theater.
Other acts this year include Sun-Dried Opossum, Kiz Carter and Juke Jackson and an opening act from the Heifetz International Music Institute students.
“Shenandoah Concerts and the Club at Ironwood have a great relationship,” said Huggins. “This has always been a home-grown thing, a very Staunton thing.”
He has also partnered with local hotels to get overnight packages for those coming from out of town.
The event will also feature various Virginia microbreweries and a wide variety of local BBQ and craft vendors, according to the event page. For more information visit ShenandoahConcerts.com.
The Club at Ironwood is located at 62 Country Club Circle in Staunton.
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The buzz is a short recap of area business trends. Send ideas to reporter Laura Peters at lpeters@newsleader.com or follow her @peterslaura and @peterpants.
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