QUEENS — A gourmet cheese company will be opening a retail shop and cafe inside a large former warehouse building in Long Island City that is owned by the developers of Chelsea Market.
Artisanal Brands Inc., which markets Artisanal Premium Cheese based in Hell's Kitchen, has signed a long-term lease on a space at the Falchi Building in Queens, which is being renovated, the company announced this week.
Amy's Bread, an artisanal bakery that's headquartered in Long Island City and has a retail shop in Chelsea Market, has been in talks to open a kiosk in the building, according to owner Amy Scherber said — though she said there's been no formal deal.
"We're hoping to," she said. "It’s a beautiful, really cool industrial building."
The Falchi Building, a 5-story, 600,000-square-foot former warehouse at 31-00 47th Ave., near 31st Street, is owned by Jamestown Properties, the company behind Chelsea Market.
Current tenants include a "mix of government, medical, media, tech, engineering and jewelry manufacturers," according to Jamestown's website.
"We know them to be first rate in terms of how they [repurpose] buildings," said Artisanal president and CEO Daniel W. Dowe, who says Jamestown is renovating the building's facade and front lobby.
"We looked at a lot of buildings," he said. "We wanted to be in an interesting, dynamic neighborhood. It’s a vibrant community we think its only going to get better."
Artisanal's new headquarters in the property will include production and office facilities, as well as cheese aging rooms and a gourmet cheese shop and cafe to be located in the building's front entrance, Dowe said, which will be their first retail location.
"That's a new extension of our company that we're really excited about," he said, saying the shop will sell cheese by the block as well as a "cheese-centric" menu of sandwiches, paninis, scones and other goods.
"Most things will be cheese-oriented," Dowe said.
News of Artisanal's move was first reported in an article in the New York Daily News, which reported that Jamestown Properties is looking to lure food vendors to the Falchi Building.
A spokesman for Jamestown Properties declined to comment on what the company has planned for the site, which it bought for more than $80 million in the spring of 2012, property records show.
Artisanal Premium Cheese is expecting to open its shop and cafe around January, Dowe said.
