Call them what you will - gourmet delis, premium grocers, speciality food stores - food retailers are tailoring their businesses to meet the demand for niche category foods from organic farmers and boutique producers. With new stores opening and more on the way, shopping for fine foods has never been easier - or quite so much fun. Geoffrey Eu reports on three choice stores.

JONES THE GROCER
Block 9 Dempsey Road, #01-12.
www.jonesthegrocer.com

IT is not open for business yet but when Jones the Grocer jumps into the culinary fray at the end of this month, it will no doubt make a big impression on the speciality food scene. With an expansive 6,200 sq ft of dedicated space in Dempsey Hill - the first of a few stores around Singapore - it could hardly fail to do so.

The Jones concept, which originated over a decade ago in an affluent Sydney suburb, encompasses several key characteristics, including a walk-in cheese room, an exhaustive range of meats and charcuterie and preservative-free and organic grocery items from artisanal producers. According to John Manos, director of the Jones Group Australia, about half of the products will be from Australia and the rest will come from around the world.

'The plan was to build a flagship store to represent the full range of Jones offerings,' says Mr Manos, who adds that the idea is to open four or five smaller stores in neighbourhoods that have 'the right demographics'. While Jones the Grocer may target an upscale market and is similar in concept to, say, Dean & DeLuca in the US, Peck in Italy, and Fauchon or Hediard in France, it will also offer a large variety of products at multiple price points.

Among the unique products available will be Di Lorenzo coffee; Setaro, a speciality pasta brand from Naples; olive oils and vinegars by Terra Bormane, the same company that packages products for Alain Ducasse; and Kshocolate, a speciality brand of chocolates.

The Singapore store is a joint venture between Jones and local franchisee Michael Sawyer, a currency dealer who has decided to go into the food retailing business. 'We just loved the concept and we know that it's good - I thought that Singapore would love to see a food concept like this.' There are currently 11 stores in Australia and New Zealand, with Singapore the strategic launch pad for stores in Asia and beyond, in places like Dubai and Hong Kong.

Adds Mr Manos: 'There is a lot of supermarket-style retailing here but nothing that takes it to the next level. Singaporeans are affluent and well travelled, so it is a logical choice to open here. We are not just pitching at the top 2 per cent of people but also looking at the middle to high end of the market - we are pitching at people who want something beyond regular supermarkets.'

The Singapore store is designed by Landini Associates, a brand consultant that includes Harrods and Harvey Nichols among it clients. Mr Manos describes its design as minimalist, with rustic undertones. 'We are looking to make a design statement about the way that food retailing should be conducted,' he says.

Apart from fresh meats, seafood and grocery products, Jones the Grocer will feature a central counter with a 10-seat bar area serving coffee and tapas-style meals. It will also offer an area where large slabs of home-made sweets such as Turkish delight and Rocky Road will be displayed and cut to order. A separate section will incorporate an 80-seat cafe, serving casual all-day meals at reasonable price points. Within six months of opening, the store will offer home delivery, catering, hampers and cooking classes.

CULINA AT DEMPSEY
Block 8 Dempsey Road,
#01-13. Tel: 6474-7338

IT may have been unintentional, perhaps, but it turns out that Culina - a veteran local player in the premium food business and a favoured destination among gourmet food fans - is not only keeping up with the Joneses (the Grocer, that is) but is also opening its flagship store right next door. Culina's Dempsey Road premises - its third and by far its largest outlet - opens on Monday, giving it a two-week head start on its neighbour.

Culina, which has been gradually upgrading its existing, slightly cramped, stores at Bukit Timah and Orchard Boulevard, has adopted an all-inclusive approach this time around. Regular Culina customers who visit the new 4,500 sq ft space will marvel at the luxurious shopping environment and the acres of space available to shop in - a major departure from the past.

'The whole idea is to extend the general offerings to end consumers,' says Michael Chong, Culina's general manager. 'In the past, we just offered produce as it was but now, with a back-end kitchen prep area, we can do a better presentation for consumers - we can cut meats to order, scale and gut fish and so on. We can offer more wines and more of everything in general.'

In addition to speciality counter staff, the new store will feature serving counters displaying high-end products such as caviar, foie gras and smoked fish, plus a variety of fresh oysters, charcuterie and cheeses. There will also be Culina Enoteca, a section where customers can sample dozens of wines, order a Lavazza coffee or simply inquire about specific products. 'Consumers are much more sophisticated these days, so the Enoteca is a place for them to try items on the spot,' says Mr Chong.

The store, which sports a clean, contemporary look, is open between 9 am and 8 pm on most days (9 am to 6 pm on Sundays). It also has a cafe with a listing of wines available by the glass and a limited a la carte menu of simple dishes, such as soups, salads and sandwiches, plus a small selection of daily specials and desserts.

The cafe acts as a cooked food showcase for Culina products, says store manager Lee Chee Wee. 'We engaged a chef to cook our products to show how the raw ingredients can be transformed to a finished product,' he says.

A sample meal at the cafe might comprise a salad of Tetsuya's smoked Petuna ocean trout, braised Kinkawooka mussels and pan-seared wagyu beef, followed by a simple tiramisu for dessert. 'One of the good things about working here is that there is all that nice produce at your fingertips - the theme is fresh daily produce,' says Enoteca chef David Yong.

OH DELI
421 East Coast Road.
Tel: 6440-4409

THE opening six months ago of Oh Deli - a store dedicated to fine foods from Australia - is perhaps an indication that there is ample room for family-run neighbourhood stores in the gourmet food industry. For three generations, the Oh family has been in the pork business, first as pig farmers, then as pork traders and importers - at one stage the family company, Oh Tau Tee, was the largest importer of Malaysian pork into Singapore.

In the late 1990s, the business was badly affected by an outbreak of the deadly nipah virus in pig farms on the peninsula, and as a result, it now sources pork from Australia, where two family members are based. At Oh Deli, which is located in a shophouse on East Coast Road, the speciality is its fresh chilled meats.

According to Susie Oh, one of five siblings, all of whom are involved in the business in one way or another, the deli grew from an idea to bring in fresh produce to complement the pork business. Her sister Patsy had wanted to open a butcher shop, so it was only natural to extend the product list a little further.

'It all started because the whole family loves to eat and the shop is simply about sharing our passion for good food - a lot of products are those that we eat ourselves,' says Ms Oh, who shuttles between homes in Melbourne and Singapore. Together with fellow Australia resident and sister Jenny, she handles the sourcing of the products, mainly from small producers throughout the country. It started off with some biscuits, breads and preserves, and has now snowballed into several hundred different products. The family ships in pork daily, so it is easier to consolidate shipments.

'When we jumped into it, we felt that it was a struggle to find good jams and relishes and juices here,' says Ms Oh. 'It was frustrating to come back to Singapore where I just couldn't find anything. If I experienced that, expats and other people living here also experienced it, so our goal is to introduce interesting new foods to Singapore.'

Such items might include extra virgin olive oil from Olio Bello, a top producer of organic products; hand-made chocolates from Monsieur Truffe, a Melbourne-based French chocolate maker; biscuits from Phillippa's, a best-selling brand with UK origins; fine teas from Henry Langdon, a fifth-generation business; and organic jams and juices. Many, such as Passion Ate passion fruit preserve, are single-product suppliers. Given the family business in fresh chilled meats, there is also a selection of meats and home-made sausages.

So far, the response has been positive and while the majority of customers come from nearby, people seeking specific favourites will make the trek from farther afield.