RIND by Block Island Charcuterie to open new store in Northport

Mauve-fleshed figs, salumi roses and sugared cranberries — offset by the greens of rosemary sprigs and cornichons — are artistic implements for Kaleigh Bernier, who curates charcuterie displays.

Over the past several years, Bernier has built boards with marbled green Sage Derby and butter-yellow Midnight Moon goat cheese as the founder of Block Island Charcuterie, a business she started off the coast of Rhode Island during the pandemic.

But this holiday season, Bernier plans to bring a build-your-own charcuterie box concept to the village of Northport as she opens her first brick-and-mortar store: RIND by Block Island Charcuterie.

“There’s just such a beautiful tie between Northport and Block Island,” said Bernier, now a Northport resident. “All the yacht clubs go out to Block Island, so it kind of felt like a natural second place to open up.”

Bernier describes the RIND concept as Chipotle-style with a retail area. The build-your-own counter will allow customers to select the components of an individual or multi-serving cheese and charcuterie box.

“The idea is that it’s grab-and-go, very quick,” Bernier said. “They’re having a picnic, they want something to eat in the park, they’re going out on a boat, they can come in and grab something that’s delicious, beautiful, healthy.”

Charcuterie made the top-three appetizers and sides in the National Restaurant Association's 2023 What's Hot Culinary Forecast. The association does not have related data, according to its media relations director.

At RIND, customers will also be able to preorder larger charcuterie boards for holidays or special events, or shop a retail section stocked with cut cheese, charcuterie, crackers, salumi, olives and other a la carte items, Bernier said.

The shop, located in the historic Thompson Building with an entrance on Scudder Avenue, is still a work in progress. Bernier said she hoped construction, which is minimal and will preserve elements like exposed brick and original beams, would be done in time for a December opening with a starting staff of one to four employees. Bernier declined to disclose the estimated cost of renovations. 

Built in 1889 for the Edward Thompson Co., the Woodbine Avenue structure originally housed printing and editing operations, according to Terry Reid, executive director of the Northport Historical Society and Museum. Until 1935, large volumes of the American and English Encyclopedia of Law were produced there, Reid said.

“It really put Northport on the map, because they were shipped all over the world,” Reid said of the building she called “a big, iconic landmark in our town.”

Reid estimated the company employed approximately 100 people, and noted Edward Thompson had a hand in creating local infrastructure, including the electric company, waterworks, fire department, Trinity Church and the trolley.

In the 1950s, Davis Aircraft Products Co. Inc. moved in to manufacture seat belts, Reid said. Davis moved out in the 1980s, she said, and then the building sat vacant until it was restored and used as office space. 

The building has much of its original beam and ironwork, Reid said.

“It’s nice to know that there are some people that still appreciate the aesthetics of the older buildings and the craftsmanship and skill that went into making these old buildings, instead of just turning everything into a big, white box,” Reid said.

Other tenants of the building include interior designer Claudia Dowling, who is moving her business from Huntington to Northport, and clothing brand lAUg AUf.

Bernier, who freelances as a Broadway stage manager in Manhattan, was living on Block Island during the pandemic as she waited for theaters to reopen. She started her charcuterie business during that time, and continued to run the seasonal business while summering on Block Island once shows started again.

Eventually, Berner and her fiancé, Northport-native Nick Graci, moved to his hometown. The Northport location will be their first storefront.

“The small town community feel is very similar, the people are very similar,” Bernier said, comparing Block Island to Northport.