Middletown just got a whole lot stinkier in the best way possible. 

On November 12, 2019, sisters and Connecticut natives Jamie Tomassetti and Lindsey Eberle opened Spread Cheese Co, a specialty cheese shop located in Main Street Market. Previously vacated by a store that sold window blinds, Spread Cheese Co is small and quaint with a rustic, New England style inspired interior. The space boasts over 70 distinct cheeses, as well as charcuteries, accoutrements, and a small retail section of boards and knives. 

“The idea really came from my sister Jamie,” Eberle explained. “She wanted to start something new and we’re both big foodies. One day she was talking to her husband and she was like, ‘What would you do if I wanted to open a cheese shop?’ So, she reached out to me and that’s when Spread developed.”

Tomasetti has lived in Middletown for over 12 years, and her husband is the co-owner of Celtic Tavern in Melilli Plaza on Main Street. Eberle is also a current resident of Middletown. 

“We just love the Main Street area,” Eberle said. “It’s such a foodie destination. We have such good restaurants on the strip, so it just seemed like a perfect spot.”

Ever since they were young, Eberle and Tomassetti have always loved food and enjoyed experimenting with different cuisines. When they traveled, the two would always try whatever the area was known for, but they remember that cheese was always the counterpoint—whether it be funky, creamy, or stinky—and they loved it all.

“We’d always try to pair things with a cheese plate or grab a nice block of cheese somewhere and pair it with a meat,” Eberle said. “We’ve always loved cheese, but now we just love it a lot more.”

Eberle and Tomassetti hand-select all of the cheeses at Spread, boasting that they’re able to describe every cheese to their customers and offer suggestions for how to pair them. Before they opened, they spent much of their time traveling to cheese shops around the Connecticut area, even venturing into New York City to see what it had to offer. They have become experts in cheese, which is reflected both in-store and on their website, where they have vivid descriptions of each cheese they sell. An example of this is the Maplebrook Ricotta, which has a “rich, delicate texture with a subtle, sweet flavor,” and pairs well with Pinot Grigio.

“We really tried to bring in stuff that not only we like but is so versatile that other people will like too,” Eberle said. “Our most popular is probably the Old Quebec 7-year cheddar. It’s a really aged sharp cheddar, which has been flying off the shelves. We just recently, within the last month, brought in a whiskey cheddar, and that one seems to be going too. I think the cheddar family is very popular over here.”

The majority of the cheeses they carry are sustainably and locally sourced from farms and retailers around the state, such as Cato Corner in Colchester and Arethusa in Litchfield. The sisters work directly with representatives in Connecticut and Massachusetts to find the freshest and most delicious cheeses. In addition to these local specialties, Spread also carries a lot of what is called “state” cheese from places like California, Wisconsin, and Vermont. Their other imports come from Spain, Ireland, England, and France.

Before a customer enters the store to pick out a cheese, Eberle recommends checking out the lists and descriptions of 10 or 15 cheeses on their website from each different type of category.

“We ask everyone if they don’t know anything about cheese, read this and see what kind of plays to your palette,” Eberle said. “Once we know from that list what you may like, we can make recommendations based off of that. We have a lot of the standards, like cheddars and bries on that list. If someone wanted to go crazy, we would probably go with something that isn’t of the cheddar category but maybe the Irish whiskey cheddar, or the midnight moon, which has a crystallization, so it has a little bit of a crunch. Something like that and have them taste it, see if they like it, and keep going from there.”

The duo also brought in what they call “staple items”: accompaniments such as fig jam, black and blue jam, and various genres of the cracker, guaranteed to pair well with any cheese or charcuterie board. One of the most popular staple items are the cheddar cheese stick crackers, which Eberle described as tasting like the highest quality Cheez-It. These items play to people’s adventurous side and help to build a delicious cheese board.

On any cheese board, Eberle and Tomassetti recommend having a cheese from each category: a soft, a goat, a firm, and a blue. If you want charcuterie, nuts are also a must-have, as well as fig jam, which can pair with almost anything. 

“We try to bring in some crazy cheese,” Eberle said. “Right now, we have a guacamole cheese that’s green, and it looks like an avocado, but it tastes more like a Pepper Jack with a hint of avocado. It’s a cool cheese, and I know it’s not a typical cheese shop type cheese, but I love it. It seems to be popular around here.”

Though Spread may be new to the area, they’re already a hit with the local community. On most Saturdays, the shop hosts pairing events with local breweries where they hand-pick and feature a cheese and pair it with beer or wine. In the future, Tomassetti and Eberle hope to host ticketed events, where people could rent out a portion of the store for a birthday party or host a private cheese plate pairing.

“Everyone walks in and says, this is what Middletown needs,” said Eberle. “They’re super happy that we’re here.” 

 

Jane Herz can be reached at jherz@wesleyan.edu.