Well Fed On the Town

I’m a nut for kitchen stores. I don’t know when this happened, but it’s true. I can’t pass up a Williams-Sonoma for the life of me, even though they all have the same stuff. I still have to look!

With my tendency to like local shopping, though, I find myself preferring local kitchen supply stores as well. What I’ve found is that the prices are pretty much the same as online or chain stores, with some added benefits like having cooking classes available.

My local favorite has quickly become Cooks’ Wares, in Mason and Springboro, Ohio. A local family owns and runs the stores. Paul can often be found at the Mason store at Harper’s Point, while daughter Sharon is usually at the Springboro location. Mary, Paul’s wife, does the number crunching and other behind-the-scenes work.

What I’ve noticed about this store, as compared to other local kitchen shopping, is the variety of what they offer. The stores are well organized, and the staff is great at helping find whatever I think I need at the time.

So, like the market I looked at before, I’m going to try to look at different sections of Cooks’ Wares and what I like or don’t like about each section. Today’s department’ is one of my favorites - Knives!

The Springboro store is actually where I got my first Shun knife, after a knife skills class that my wife and I took. I tried several of the brands they carried (Global, Wusthof, Henckels), and found I liked the feel of the Shun knives the best. And since it was in conjunction with a class, I got a good discount on the knives, above the discount already offered (to be fair, it seems that just about everyone offers roughly the same price on things like knives, though).

I love just looking at knives. I’ve gotten comfortable enough with knives that I no longer feel nervous about handling them in a store.

I’m also enough of a kitchen geek, and have gotten used to talking about equipment and food, that I’m likely to tell other customers how great the knives are… Which ultimately gives my wife fuel to make fun of me!

Cooks’ Wares sells online, too. I’m all for people going to them online, but, for the true hands on experience, foodies need to find a local store like this one to get their mitts on equipment to try it out. And don’t forget to check out the classes your local shop offers.

Cooks’ Wares

The Marketplace at Settlers Walk
756 North Main Street St. Rte. 741
Springboro, OH 45066
Phone 937-748-4540

The Shops at Harper’s Point
11344 Montgomery Road
Cincinnati, OH 45249
Phone 513-489-6400
Fax 513-489-1211

(Cooks’ Wares logo used with permission)