- Story by Tess van Straaten Photography by Don Denton
Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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Not many people can say they含羞草研究社檙e the big cheese. But Nanaimo含羞草研究社檚 Eric McLean sure can and he has the T-shirt to prove it.
含羞草研究社淧eople get a good chuckle out of it and it helps me stand out,含羞草研究社� laughs Eric, who started McLean含羞草研究社檚 Specialty Foods 27 years ago.
The Glasgow native was even inducted into the Guilde des Fromagers, or 含羞草研究社渃heese hall of fame,含羞草研究社� five years ago. And his passion for good food is contagious.
含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 like one of my customers said the other day 含羞草研究社� life含羞草研究社檚 too short to eat bad cheese,含羞草研究社� Eric says.
The idea for the specialty foods store, located in Nanaimo含羞草研究社檚 Old City Quarter, was actually the result of Eric and his wife, Sandy, being unable to find ingredients like extra virgin olive oil, prosciutto and good cheese when they moved to the Harbour City almost three decades ago.
含羞草研究社淲hen we moved here from Vancouver 28 years ago there was nothing,含羞草研究社� explains Eric. 含羞草研究社淲e just realized there was a big hole in the market. It含羞草研究社檚 hard to believe, but before I opened the store in 1992 you couldn含羞草研究社檛 even buy balsamic vinegar and nobody knew what San Pellegrino was.含羞草研究社�
For Eric, who含羞草研究社檇 worked in the food industry since immigrating to Canada in 1980, opening the store 含羞草研究社渉ad to be done含羞草研究社� and he says many of his first customers had also recently moved to Nanaimo from larger cities like Vancouver and Toronto.
含羞草研究社淟ike us, they含羞草研究社檇 moved here and couldn含羞草研究社檛 find what they were used to buying,含羞草研究社� he says. 含羞草研究社淚 promoted the store at first as a place to get hard-to-find ingredients.含羞草研究社�
With around 150 different kinds of cheese 含羞草研究社� one of the largest selections on Vancouver Island 含羞草研究社� as well as gourmet oils, vinegars, truffles, p芒t茅s, a delicatessen and wide assortment of Danish, British, European and South African specialty items, McLean含羞草研究社檚 has attracted a loyal following over the years and a surprising number of new customers.
含羞草研究社淓very single day for the past 20-plus years, we含羞草研究社檝e had at least one person, and usually several, say: 含羞草研究社極h this is great, we含羞草研究社檝e never been here before含羞草研究社� or 含羞草研究社楩riends told us about this place, we just moved here,含羞草研究社櫤卟菅芯可鐫 Eric says. 含羞草研究社淓very single day, without a lie, so can you imagine what that does for our confidence. We含羞草研究社檙e doing something right and the positive reinforcement has been phenomenal.含羞草研究社�
But running a small business isn含羞草研究社檛 easy. In the beginning, sourcing the products was the biggest challenge. However, now the challenge is competing with grocery and big box stores that have big buying power and are now carrying more specialty items.
含羞草研究社淚n the last three-to-five years, supermarkets have suddenly discovered things like balsamic vinegar and prosciutto,含羞草研究社� explains Eric. 含羞草研究社淭he biggest challenge is supermarkets have realized specialty foods are part of a growing market. But their main motivation is price and they can含羞草研究社檛 tell you what to do with the product.含羞草研究社�
While Eric says he usually can含羞草研究社檛 compete on price, he can offer something chain stores can含羞草研究社檛 含羞草研究社� specialized service and extensive product knowledge.
含羞草研究社淲e can spend time with the customer and tell them what to do with the product, share recipes and share our experiences using it. And that has given us the edge,含羞草研究社� Eric says. 含羞草研究社淚 teach my staff to get to know our customers and to treat them like they含羞草研究社檙e important, because they are. I may sign their paycheque but I don含羞草研究社檛 pay them. I tell staff to always remember the customer pays them.含羞草研究社�
Eric says the most important lesson he含羞草研究社檚 learned in running the business has been to trust his instincts. But the best advice came decades ago, when he was still in Scotland and training in sales, from a man who would become his mentor.
含羞草研究社淗is name was George Burrows and he told me never, ever bullshit the customer because it will come back to haunt you,含羞草研究社� Eric says. 含羞草研究社淲e were in a shop one time calling on a good customer he含羞草研究社檇 had for a good number of years, and the owner was going to order this and that [from us] and George told him not to order it because it wasn含羞草研究社檛 a good fit for the store. I asked George what the heck he was doing because I thought we needed every sale we could get, and he told me that if he goes back next month and it含羞草研究社檚 still sitting there on the shelf, the customer isn含羞草研究社檛 going to be happy. 含羞草研究社楬e含羞草研究社檚 going to be really pissed off if I sold him something for the sake of selling something.含羞草研究社櫤卟菅芯可鐫
The conversation has definitely stuck with Eric, whose other passion is music. He含羞草研究社檚 been playing guitar since he was 13 years old, including a stint professionally, and is one of the co-founders of the Nanaimo Blues Festival. His other claim to fame is launching Mott含羞草研究社檚 Clamato on Vancouver Island when he worked for Cadbury-Schweppes years ago.
含羞草研究社淚 learned an awful lot about product margins, how to merchandise product and how you can increase sales by moving product and repositioning it 含羞草研究社� because the location of the product is really key,含羞草研究社� he says. 含羞草研究社淚 like to get a product that looks nice because basically it含羞草研究社檚 fighting for its life to get someone to pick it up. So the better or more interesting it looks, the better chance it has of finding a home.含羞草研究社�
After almost three decades in business, it含羞草研究社檚 clear Eric has found his home. But the grandfather of three isn含羞草研究社檛 planning to retire anytime soon.
含羞草研究社淧eople ask me if I have an exit strategy and I say, 含羞草研究社榟ow do you spell that? We含羞草研究社檙e going to keep on doing what we含羞草研究社檙e doing and trying to stay ahead of the curve.含羞草研究社櫤卟菅芯可鐫
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