Have you curd the word? "Meet and Eat Charcuterie" is opening in Larkinville

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB)--If you like meat and cheese, you feta keep reading.

Meet and Eat Charcuterie is opening their doors in Larkinville, Saturday April 20th, and will be offering wine and cheese tastings, charcuterie classes, grab to go options and made to order charcuterie boards.

"Guests will be able to come in and they will be able to select two different types of cheeses, meats, produce, so you go down the line and you can try and sample different things," said owner, Kristen Cronyn, who came up with the idea while at a Pita Gourmet. "We want to give people the ability to customize whether you have a dietary need or you just want to try something new."

Cronyn's journey with charcuterie started four years ago during the pandemic.

"I started during the pandemic, arranging breakfast foods like charcuterie boards for my kids, and that grew into meat and cheese boards, which grew into Instagram reels and tutorials, which then grew into classes." said Cronyn.

Now four years later, her passion for charcuterie boards continues to sharpen and her business is a new place to stop in while visiting Larkinville.

"Larkin is incredible, it's a very family vibe I would say, and there's a lot of great different entrepreneurs I get to join and we all really fit well together," said Cronyn, "When you come it's a destination space, you can come, walk, spend time, do some shopping, get some great food, and I'm really happy to be a part of it."

Many know the common phrase, "say cheese" but for Cronyn, she also dreams of cheese.

"I had a dream that I carved the Buffalo skyline out of cheese, it was incredibly vivid," Cronyn laughed, "I came downstairs, and I had to get it out of my head so I grabbed the different elements, I grabbed swiss, cheddar, and provolone, colby, and just carved the skyline out of cheese."

She posted the photo of the charcuterie board on Instagram and says the post ended up going viral and people started sending orders in for a Buffalo City Skyline board. She even made the Mayor of Buffalo one, and her friend, artist Christy Francis of "Avery and Harlow", painted a mural of the board in the new space of the Western New York Cheese Academy.

"The Western New York Cheese Academy is the crown jewel, my pride and joy," said Cronyn. "This will allow us to connect cheese, wine, and charcuterie experts directly to enthusiasts so I'm all about bringing people together and educating them."

She says they're holding cheese and wine tastings, board making classes, and hopes to have it for a community asset for industry training as well.

"I would consider myself a food entrepreneur. We're putting a different spin on the restaurant world to create more experiential dining. We want it to be both fun and relaxing," said Cronyn.

Meet and Eat Charcuterie will be located at 799 Seneca Street starting at 4 p.m. on April 20. A cake made of cheese, provided by Eden Valley Creamery, will be cut for a "cutting of the cheese" ribbon ceremony to mark the grand opening.

You can visit their website here for more information.