Photo courtesy of Sisters in Cheese
Chelsea Johnsen is a food-preneur at Sisters in Cheese. With a buffet of ideas, she’s a go-to source of inspiration (and crave-worthy food) for her growing following of customers.
Turning a dream into a flourishing business
Chelsea initially began her business, Sisters in Cheese, as a catering service that creates beautifully crafted cheese boards and grazing boxes. She recalls the early days of her business: “When we started, I would deliver to an arranged location since I had no physical store.” It worked. But after only a year and a half, Chelsea opened a companion restaurant out of necessity. “We just got busy enough that we had to have a bigger space, and we needed a convenient pick-up location for customers,” she said.
While catering for her unique grazing boxes continues to be the bulk of most days for the Sisters in Cheese kitchen, Chelsea was pleased to open the new Madrid restaurant in April. You should have seen the turn-out for her grand opening – what a great hubbub! New customers and old friends, locals and those who travelled to experience the fresh new flavors (like us), young and old – everyone hungry – packed the restaurant and piled into booths! Customers took in Chelsea’s signature table-scapes, brimming with delicious munchies – including familiar staples and intriguing products alike. Music welcomed customers through front doors that we’re pretty sure have been swinging open ever since.
Customers couldn’t be happier she opened those restaurant doors. When you walk in, you’ll find smiles tucked away in the booths, enjoying menu options like the “Sun Up Sammie” cold brew coffee and so much more.
The Sisters in Cheese restaurant offers lunch and breakfast items plus a weekend happy hour (often with entertainment). Chelsea stays plenty busy as she satisfies customers at the restaurant, for take-out and of course, catering.
Photo courtesy of Sisters in Cheese
How she began it all…
While she certainly has plenty of experience in the kitchen – like so many success stories – Chelsea’s is one that didn’t begin as expected. She recalls her first job was at the 4-H camp cafeteria. Then she worked at Caseys, and later at a series of Des Moines restaurants…and finally found herself in the corporate world. “I never thought I would get back into the restaurant business,” she says. But, noting how a calling sometimes takes hold and tugs at you, “It’s hard to get that out of your soul.”
“Sisters in Cheese actually started out as a dream with my sister-in-law,” Chelsea recalled. “We figured if we didn’t do it, someone else would.” Chelsea and her sister-in-law ultimately decided not to mix friendship with business, and Sisters in Cheese became a one-woman show with Chelsea at the helm…and in the kitchen prepping food, at the register taking orders, at her suppliers’ sourcing ingredients, front of house in her restaurant chatting with customers, behind the camera for her social media posts, and everywhere else a restaurant owner/caterer must be. You know, that 24/7 work-must-be-done stuff.
Yes, operating a food business is hard work, but according to Chelsea, the work is well worth it. “It’s been better than I thought. It’s harder work, but I’ve never felt so excited. I love it!”
Where does the name Sisters in Cheese originate?
Lots of people ask where the name “Sisters in Cheese” originated. To Chelsea, it’s the combination of a best friendship with her sister-in-law, a dream and a home for her food ideas.
Chelsea tells the story, “I told my sister-in-law it would be hilarious to start a business named “Sisters in Cheese” and sell fancy cheese boards. We joked about it for a few weeks, but then it quickly turned into the real deal when people started asking for [the cheese boards] for their events.” Chelsea noted how much research she did when she was starting her business, developing her craft and coming up with something highly creative. (She was striving for originality and a uniqueness that she could trademark.)
To her customers, Sisters in Cheese is not only a catchy name. It’s great service, high-quality food, and of course, a beautiful presentation of freshness. “Food is gorgeous!” Chelsea likes to say.
We couldn’t agree more.
Photo courtesy of Sisters in Cheese
More than delicious, the Sisters in Cheese grazing boards are food art
While grazing boxes remain her signature item at Sisters in Cheese, Chelsea has expanded to mini-grazers (which we love for picnics), grazing boards, tiles, and tables. Grazing TABLES. Can you think of a more deliciously beautiful way to serve guests? Fresh charcuterie, crisp produce, breads, pretzels, nuts, blocks of interesting cheeses, dips to try…grazing options galore! All impeccably arranged on a tabletop for easy taste-testing – perfect for mingling and our favorite kind of party.
The offerings at Sisters in Cheese have far surpassed the basic “meat and cheese tray.” (Pop on over to their Instagram feed and you’ll see what we mean.) “We go beyond cheese and meats, and use lots of fruits and veggies. I also try to source local ingredients and go for fresh items that pair well,” Chelsea adds.
There’s a lot of thought that goes into her creations. “I try to use ingredients that work well together,” Chelsea said as she explained to us how she’s found food barriers that help the ingredients maintain peak freshness and flavor.
Customers can’t get enough of Chelsea’s grazing boards. She does a variety – everything from weddings to annual fundraising gigs for the Ankeny Rotary and even a firm interested in investing in food/ag businesses.
Enticing customers to try something new…
Chelsea strives to price and package her products so customers can try something they typically wouldn’t buy. That might mean you’ll find a wedge of an intriguing cheese, unusual new dip, or a local product tucked in with her charcuterie. She aims for an assortment of tantalizing foods that work well together, which means testing for taste and quality is routine for Chelsea and her assembly crew.
Though she typically doesn’t have time to hand-craft each specialty ingredient, she does create fresh bread dips to experiment with flavor combinations – when time allows.
Another thing we love about Chelsea…she’s a giver. Any leftovers in her business are donated to a food kitchen or become feed for Chelsea’s chickens. Not that there’s much in the way of leftovers, we imagine.
The family business
With all the effort that goes into building a business, Chelsea is quick to appreciate the flexibility and freedom of being an entrepreneur. “One of the things I love the most is that my family gets to be involved in this crazy journey with me,” she acknowledges. “My husband helps out in the kitchen sometimes and does pretty much every repair needed. The kids have a love/hate relationship in regard to spending time at the restaurant, but we get to see each other so much and it’s amazing!”
Are your taste buds tingling yet? If you’re local, pop in to see Chelsea at Sisters in Cheese. If you’re not, give her a follow on Instagram or Facebook to see what new things this amazing woman has cooking. Find the menu here: www.SistersinCheese.com
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