Kurt Gurdal Brings a Wealth of Cheese Knowledge to Canyon Grocer
By Laurel Busby
News & Information Editor
Packed into a slice of Canyon Square is a cheesemonger with an expansive knowledge of cheese and its producers.
Kurt Gurdal, who opened Canyon Grocer three years ago, has been sampling intriguing cheeses and meeting their producers since he was a toddler. His parents owned Formaggio Kitchen, a well-respected chain of stores in Boston and New York that specialized in international cheeses and other unique grocery products.
At their home, they regularly entertained cheesemakers and other food manufacturers from around the world, allowing their son to see the inner workings of the food industry.
“I met so many amazing producers growing up that would stay at our house,” Gurdal said. “It gave me a different outlook on food.”
He simultaneously learned about the retail side of the industry through helping out at his parents’ Cambridge store.
As a child, “I was always brought to work with them,” he said. “They’d have me package bulk candy for Christmas and Halloween. I would take naps on flour sacks, and, when I got to a certain age, they let me stand on a crate and help with pastries.”
He could have gotten his first job in the family business, but he didn’t want to take advantage of the “easy in.” During high school, he worked as a dishwasher at a pizza place, then as a shoe salesman. He also played volleyball and was recruited by colleges on the East Coast, but since the West Coast is known as the strongest area in the country for volleyball, he decided to come west and walk on at UC-Irvine.
Kurt Gurdal in Canyon Grocer
He earned a spot on the team, but soon realized that he wasn’t as strong a player as he had thought. He left the school’s team after a year, played at the beach for fun instead, and also came home during school breaks and started working at his parents’ store.
During those breaks, “I fell in love with the hustle and the passion,” Gurdal said. “It was really cool to be a part of it.”
After graduating in 2007, he garnered a one-year visa to work in London at Neal’s Yard Dairy, another preeminent cheese shop, where he met more cheesemakers and visited their farms.
“It was one of the best-run companies I’d ever seen,” Gurdal said.
Along with his parents’ shops, Neal’s Yard Dairy became a model for how he imagined one day operating his own store. Then Oprah Winfrey recommended Formaggio Kitchen in one of her gift guides, and the shop became so busy that they requested Gurdal’s help to manage the slew of new business.
He moved back to Boston and spent 10 years managing their shop, before he decided to move back to Southern California with the dream of one day opening a similar store. He first worked at local restaurants and markets, and he eventually held pop-ups at Canyon Square, which turned out to have exactly the type of customers and community that appealed to Gurdal.
The residents “really cared about businesses and what they represented and who they were,” Gurdal said. “We’re a tiny little market with a cheese and charcuterie emphasis, but we’re also here to be a hub for the community.”
Gurdal treasures having people pop by to chat and enjoy a leisurely moment in their day. He also likes finding unique items that they can enjoy at home.
For example, he immediately brought in Bonilla a la Vista’s thin olive oil and sea salt potato chips, a favorite at his parents’ store, that are made in Spain and come in an attractive tin. He also purchased products from many California companies, such as honey from Byron’s Bee Co., whose owner rescues bees from extermination and then processes their honey, and Mahogany Smoked Meats, which makes a “moist and good quality beef jerky” that his wife, Kelly, discovered in Bishop, Calif. Rancho Gordo Beans, which grows “tasty” heirloom beans in Napa, was another special find.
Each item and company has a story. There’s a “maple granola that is out of this world” from Varsity Bakers, a company headed by people he previously worked with at Farm Shop, and Olive Truck’s Berkeley olive oil, which is harvested and then pressed in the field to create a “super fresh, super vibrant flavor.”
“California makes some of the best olive oils in the world and some of the best cheeses,” Gurdal said.
Most of those California cheeses come from Northern California, although he said that the SoCal cheese scene is growing. In terms of his Canyon customers, the most popular cheeses thus far have been triple-crèmes, Manchego, aged gouda, and cheddar.
Unlike Cambridge, where his customers sought out unusual cheeses, such as those with a “crazy rind and a weird odor to it,” Canyonites tend to be less likely to experiment with unknown flavors.
“It’s difficult to get people out of their comfort zone to try new things, but what I’m seeing more at our cheese shop is people are trusting a bit more of what we recommend, which is really nice to see,” he said. “Taste is individual and you’re matching people with the cheeses they want to have.”
Because Canyon Grocer is so small, Gurdal doesn’t have the space to provide cheese samples. Instead, all his wares, aside from produce from local farmers markets, is packaged. Still, he’s able to offer a rotating supply of unique cheeses from both California and abroad, and he also provides custom cheese and charcuterie boards as well as imaginative fruit and crudité arrangements for events. Gift boxes and in-home pairings are also available.
In addition, the store offers fresh berries, stone fruit, and both Schaner Farms eggs and fresh-pressed juices. Chocolates also occupy a substantial section of the store and include many bean-to-bar producers. Other popular items include “good-ole Southern peanuts” made by Methodists in North Carolina and La Morra frozen pizzas.
“They make by far the best pizzas I’ve ever tasted,” said Gurdal, who is a new parent with a one-year-old daughter, Violet.
Thus far, Gurdal has managed with the help of his two employees, Lily Wollman and Donna Ferrentino, to weather the aftermath of the fire. The initial power outage meant that they had to dispose of their refrigerated products, and once they reopened, the area was so empty that there were few customers.
“Business was really slow, but everyone in the Canyon was so supportive,” Gurdal said. “They made the hit way less than what it would have been. We couldn’t have done it without them.”
Gurdal has joined the fledgling Canyon Business Association to help find new ways to promote area businesses, and through the group, he’s begun to meet and get to know other local business owners. In addition, the ending of local checkpoints has made driving and parking a bit easier, which will likely improve business this summer
“Everyone feels a bit better; the street looks a bit better,” Gurdal said. “It’s a move in the right direction.”
For questions and special orders, contact (805) 444-8255 or kurt@kurtandwhey.com. Canyon grocer (169 W. Channel) is open seven days a week from 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. The website is kurtandwhey.com.
