Cheese Platters comes back with more

Joyce Hosea is having a blast in her kitchen, thinking of what scratch-made offerings will show up next at Cheese Platters and More.

“I’ve always been in business for myself, since I was 27,” she said. “I started out in a small cafe in Georgetown before Georgetown was what it is today.”

Hosea opened Cheese Platters in 2004, but closed it due to a bad experience with the landlord, she said. She knew she wanted to bring it back one day.

She went to culinary school six years ago, where she said she fell in love with the art of butchering.

“I like knowing that there’s more than the standard cuts,” Hosea said; plus, she can produce many more products that way.

Fast-forward to 2018, and there’s a lot more to Cheese Platters and More, which recently opened at 2717 E. Union St.

“I designed this place myself, with pencil and paper,” Hosea said.

The space is divided in half, with a tapas and wine bar on one side, where people can also order up sandwiches, soups, salads, pizzas and more. There will also be a rotation of seasonal items, with Hosea thinking about Thanksgiving side dishes come this fall.

An array of cheeses, olives, pastas and butchered cuts can be found on the other side, with plenty of grab-and-go items for customers to pull from the coolers.

She offers a variety of cuts of pork, beef and lamb, many aged, vacuum packed and seasoned for a quick meal when customers get home. Hosea and her team also make sausage, chorizo and bacon. Adventurous carnivores might also be interested in picking up a pig’s head, brined for three days and smoked for 12 hours.

Building up the catering side of Cheese Platters and More is one of Hosea’s goals.

“For any food business, catering can be the backbone of your business,” she said.

A Seattle native, Hosea said she’s glad to be able to offer a wide variety of foods in the Central Area, and she’s making sure it’s affordable in the mixed-income neighborhood.

The food options are many, but Hosea doesn’t mind walking people through them.

“We offer out samples all the time,” she said.

The entrepreneur also owns The Melding Pot commissary kitchen, 1440 S. Jackson, where a tenant is whipping up empanadas that are served at Cheese Platters and More. Another vendor is crafting lemongrass tofu meatballs.

“We make everything else we sell,” Hosea said.

Plans are for a great grand opening sometime before Labor Day.

More information about Cheese Platters and More is available at cheeseandmoreonunion.com.