Chatham Rises To A Challenge, Part I: Bimi's Cheese Shop
John Campbell shares snapshots of the town's businesses as they figure out how to keep going during COVID.
Chatham, New York is an ever-growing, buzzing and vibrant community, and not even COVID-19 can keep some of the many small businesses down. If you want an encyclopedia of cheese? Look no further than Bimi’s Cheese Shop. Do you have a desire to read something of fiction, fact, culture, history, or spiritual knowledge? Stop by Chatham Bookstore. How about comfort food? A pie, a sandwich, a fresh lemonade? There’s Main Street Goodness.
Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking with the owners to see how life is during COVID-19. I wanted to talk with these heroes — who are not only keeping the lights on, but giving the community an opportunity to see some normalcy in Chatham — and shine a light on their service to their community. We’ll start this week with Bimi’s Cheese Shop and owner Ellen Waggett. My conversations with the other businesses will follow in the next two weeks.
JC: When I first moved to Columbia County two years ago, I came into Bimi’s Cheese Shop, and mentioned that I couldn’t really do cheese because of my lactose issue. You schooled me on goat cheese, and without fail, now I get my fix of the best selections of goat cheese I’ve ever had. So thank you for that! Now can you tell me, how is it that since COVID-19 you’ve hired more staff? You have a line out the door from morning to closing, weekday and weekend, plus I hear you’re expanding?
EW: Basically there are three reasons The first is that we shut down on March 3rd, and March 24th we reopened with new marching orders; as an essential business, we took seriously what we had to do as a community store. We spoke to our distributors and they had lots of food and no one to sell it to, and we changed our offerings of what we had to sell, and changed things on a dime. We made a printout grocery shopping list that people can pick upband send back and we would have it for them waiting. So from March 24th to July, we were more of a grocery store. We were providing food every day for people who didn’t really know where to go for things.
We tried to keep the same friendly, loving atmosphere, because especially from March to July, people really needed a smile, even with a mask, letting our customers know that we cared. We took all the safety precautions incredibly seriously, and none of our staff or customers got sick, so we didn’t have to close. I will say we were lucky to get a grant from the county, we got PPP money, and those funds, when we received them, made it possible for us to keep the doors open. We hired five new people, which hopefully would alleviate the lines a little bit. I’m not comfortable letting people in the store yet, mainly to protect our staff. It is a lot of work, but it’s working so that we can provide something that the community wants. Since we have been relatively successful and numbers have been stable all year, we’ve been able to donate back to the community, both to the food bank and to the schools, and every week, we do that.
JC: I know that you’ve had one of our local friends Mr. Al Roker give Bimi’s the two thumbs up for one of the Must Go To places for his breakfast sandwich. What’s the secret about Bimi’s? And please share the items that are most popular at Bimi’s?
EW: I think the two thumbs up is because we treat everyone the same, celebrity or not, they’re people shopping, and my husband and I work with celebrities every day. We are all just people. The other secret is we sell really good food. Our cheese sandwiches and baguette sandwiches are wildly successful. Our original grilled cheese is wonderful. Midnight Moon, which I know you like, is very popular. We try to introduce new cheeses to people all the time. I’ve also taken over the lease next door. Once things move along, we will have more space for people to come in and sit down and really enjoy their sandwiches.
JC: With COVID-19 changing the way we are all living, and moving, what are you most grateful for at this time?
EW: I have been incredibly grateful for Columbia County, having that safe haven and space for my family. I’m grateful for the incredible time for being with my kids. I’m also grateful for the crazy idea of a business of six years that has been a place for people to have essential needs at this time.
JC: We’ve discussed some of the thriving opportunities at Bimi’s Cheese Shop. Can you tell me what has been some of the challenges you have had to face during COVID-19?
EW: I have staff that has worked for us for a long time. It has been really hard, and the job has changed a lot this year. Keeping everyone safe and happy — this has been a management challenge. Then, hiring and training enough people quickly enough is tough. I am probably back on my heels with that, but it’s all been so unexpected, and I didn’t want to pull the trigger too soon. There’s a wealth of people in Columbia County, but the staffing has been the biggest issue for me during this time.
JC: If I wanted to find you on social media, online, or your location? Can you please share some of that information for our readers?
EW: Anything you can get in the store, you can get on the website. We're on Instagram and Facebook. We also have a little video on Bimi’s Cheese Shop: We do a lot of shipping, and gift boxes. We do local events, and we deliver. We have an email newsletter, and I used to send it once a month — that’s where I share menus and recipes. Once I get to hire staff for the new space, I will get back to that.
