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They’re saying cheese in Stony Brook — and meaning it.
Customers at the brand-new Little Cheese shop in Stony Brook Village Center are raving about their experience.
“You are missing out if you haven’t stopped in yet, so put it on your to do list ASAP,” @irishsodapixey commented on Instagram. “This is owned by the nicest family and I can’t wait to see their success. Can’t wait to stop by again.”
As Krystal and Christopher Abate prepared to open their cheese shop on Feb. 14, they knew that they were onto something pretty special. Locals kept assuring the couple that they were filling a long-awaited gap in the community.
“Everyone we’ve interacted with has been so kind,” Krystal Abate said. “And they’ve been very receptive. Everyone had been asking for a cheese shop. They love the store.”
The shop received a round of applause, “👏👏👏” from the popular Instagram account, @sayvillepatchoguemoms, and an affirmative “Yum!” from @longisland_foodie. Long Island body builder and combat athlete Alexandra Martignette weighed with an endorsement for Little Cheese. As did the widely followed Instagram account, @lieats.
Moreover, the cheese shop has nailed five-star reviews across the board on Google, so far.
“Opened for only a week, this cheese shop is already bringing its A game! Featuring over 40 cheeses we had no problem falling in love with a few to bring home,” wrote Dan Loisell in his review. “This cheese shop is going to be a hot spot, so I highly recommend hitting them up now before there’s a line out the door.”
Tina Ugalde calls the shop “a hidden gem” and Valerie Fichera advised that Little Cheese “needs to be on everyone’s radar.”
That enthusiasm carries through the doors of Little Cheese, where carefully curated selections await.
Inside the shop, natural lighting from the curved bay window reflects on the deli case that displays the shop’s wide array of cheeses, including Parmigiano Reggiano hailing from Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region and camembert imported more locally from Hudson Valley Creamery.
Accompanying the cheeses in the adjacent deli case are cured meats, including sopressata and prosciutto de Parma.
The Abates prioritize vendors who practice regenerative farming, a method of growing that aims to improve soil health and restore natural resources.
“It’s a very small niche because it’s very expensive to farm with those practices,” Krystal Abate said of the 40 cheeses the shop offers. “But if you know those farmers are doing those types of practices, it means that they truly care about what they’re doing, they’re passionate, and they’re making great products.”
And, she added, happy cows create better products.
While you can shop popular cheeses at Little Cheese, such as Cypress Grove Creamline’s Midnight Moon Gouda, most offerings are from smaller, lesser-known vendors that are harder to find.
Flavors to suit you — and everyone else
“We try to make sure that we have something from all different regions, animals,” Krystal Abate said. “Just so every box was checked off with every flavor profile.”
The large cutting boards decorating a wall at Little Cheese alert customers that they can experiment with all the flavors offered at the store on a charcuterie board.
Prices range from $24.99 for a “Little Nibble Board,” which is ideal for two people to enjoy on the go, to $359.99 for a “Grand Chocolate & Cheese Board,” which serves six assorted soft and creamy kinds of cheese, chocolates, nuts, fruits, jam and honey (enough for 20 to 30 people).
“I work with you and your taste to see if there’s something you prefer or dislike,” Krystal Abate said. “That’s the fun part, too, is that we really get to customize it to however people like it, and we make sure to put in things that accompany the cheese very well and enhance the flavors.”
Little Cheese also sells an assortment of other types of spreads, including roasted eggplant, chocolates, crackers, olives and jams.
Grew up in the food industry
This is Krystal Abate’s’s first store, but she is very familiar with the food and beverage industry.
“My mom was a chef out in the Hamptons, so I was thrown into this world,” Krystal Abate said. “I went to culinary school at Johnson & Wales University, and that’s where I met my husband.”
The pair went forward working in kitchens and management at fine dining restaurants, luxury hotel brands, mom-and-pop shops and catering restaurants in Miami, Manhattan, and here on Long Island at the Sole East Resort in Montauk.
“We’ve been dying to open a new space, but a restaurant was not in the cards with having a family, so we decided to pivot that idea a little bit,” Krystal Abate said. “Cheese is something we’ve been really passionate about since we’ve known each other, and we decided this is the perfect balance between a food business and a retail business.”
Combining experience and passion, the Abates diligently research and sample unique products. Further, they enjoy bringing that passion to guests at home or by providing an exciting shopping experience in Stony Brook.
“That’s what sparks my interest, and I become a nerd about it,” Krystal Abate said. “I just want to research, and that, to me, is my entertainment.”
Little Cheese is located at 127 Main St. in Stony Brook. To learn more and order online, visit littlecheese.shop.
Top photo: Cheeses, including Piave Vecchio, on display at Little Cheese Shop in Stony Brook. (Photos by Jennifer Corr)
