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Chez Foushee dishing out new tableware retail brand
Chez Foushee is rolling out a tableware retail brand inspired by the restaurant’s own eclectic collection of plates, flatware and other items used by diners.
(Photos courtesy Joey Wharton/Chez Foushee)
Article: Chez Foushee Dishing Out New Tableware Retail Brand
Chez Foushee is rolling out a tableware retail brand inspired by the restaurant’s own eclectic collection of plates, flatware and other items used by diners.
A long-running downtown French restaurant has a growing appetite for retail.
Chez Foushee is preparing to launch sales of its own line of tableware, such as glasses, plates and linens, through a new retail brand called Found (stylized “FOUND”).
The items will be listed on the Chez Foushee website for sale, and customers will pick them up at the restaurant located at 2 E. Grace St. in Monroe Ward.
The Found concept was influenced by customers’ positive response to Chez Foushee’s mixed-and-matched approach to the tableware used in its dining room.
“Every plate is different. … My motto is nothing matches, so nothing clashes,” said owner Whitney Cardozo, who introduced the custom after she took over the restaurant a few years ago. “I’ve always loved vintage pieces and we use them at home. I refer to the plates as granny plates. But people really bit onto it, literally.”
Cardozo said the Found collections will consist of one-off items sourced from estate sales and overseas travels.
Looking forward, the Found concept could be expanded to include some home goods as well as the option to ship through the mail, as opposed to requiring customers to pick up the items at the restaurant. In-store pickup is intended to help encourage people who may not dine at Chez Foushee to visit and potentially plan to come back again for a meal.
“It’s a way to get people in the restaurant. It’s a marketing tool and that’s part of it,” Cardozo said.
While Chez Foushee occasionally sells glassware to interested diners, the fall launch of Found is designed to be a more intentional expansion of retail operations, and builds on other web-based retail efforts at Chez Foushee in recent years.
In late 2020 and in response to the challenges created by the pandemic, Chez Foushee rolled out takeout three-course meals as a pivot strategy while its dining room was temporarily closed. Customers would order meals off the restaurant’s website, and heat the food up at home.
The restaurant reopened to indoor dining in summer 2022. While Chez Foushee has phased out the online meal orders as diners returned, it offers online ordering for desserts and gift cards. Last year it introduced online flower bouquet orders. Those existing offerings are expected to continue to be available after the launch of Found.
“We pivoted to it during the pandemic and pivoted out of it, but kept our toe in the online world,” Cardozo said.
Cardozo said that while the retail business is a small piece of the overall Chez Foushee operation, it’s been popular with customers and provides a way to interact with them beyond the dining room.
“It’s not the biggest revenue producing aspect of the business, but it is chugging along and provides this opportunity for customer engagement,” she said.
Chez Foushee first opened in 1989. Cardozo, an interior designer, bought the business in late 2017.
About the Author: Jack Jacobs
Jack joined BizSense in 2020, covering startups, retail, healthcare, public companies and nonprofits. He previously reported for the Virginia Gazette and Tidewater Review. He is a graduate of Christopher Newport University. Reach him at jack@richmondbizsense.com or 804-554-6545.