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Order by 8am... Seeking Inspiration
Usually, it hits me at some point in the week: “Oh! This is what I’ll write about in this week’s newsletter.” But those days are fewer and fewer. Instead, many of us are just “hanging on.” And our arms are tired! While we’re all in different positions (and personally we are so grateful and blessed), we can feel it in the air. Folks are exhausted - tired of working a lot or not at all. The malaise is hanging heavy today- anxiety about the future, tensions about whether to “get back to work” or not, disputes over funding… Yes, it’s all there. One friend hit the nail on the head. For many folks, it’s “simply” that they don’t have anything to look forward to. No big weekend plans. Not a future trip or adventure on the calendar. My personal challenge for myself this week - and I invite you to participate - is to put something on your calendar that you can look forward to. Honestly, it’s not an easy task! I’m still stuck! But I’m going to find a quiet place in my house and my mind this week to think it out. In the meantime, I’ll have to get through the days with the (sometimes forced) practice of gratitudes. Now more than ever, I am grateful for the hospitality. I am grateful for the smells and sounds of entering my favorite restaurants. Of the friendly greetings by hosts. Of the beauty knowing that every single bit of decor was painstakingly chosen. Of the detail in plating, in glass and serving ware. Of a carefully-curated wine list. I am grateful for gorgeous rainbow-colored walls of produce and the hands that planted, harvested, distributed, and stocked that produce. Of convenience. Of food on demand. Of “just the right brand” of flour. (Haha- who am I kidding?! I don’t bake! Not even COVID can make me...which is good because I can’t find any flour anyway!) I’m grateful for a perfectly executed event - knowing it has many mishaps along the way I never even knew about. I’m grateful for all the ways that our Austin community has fed my body, my mind, and my soul… And I am grateful for that time to come again. Same Day Pickup Need same day pickup? Get your order in by 8 am and you can pick up in the 4-6 pm window. This will help us give you better service, reduce stress on our team, and decrease potential waiting times. We continue to make tweaks and system overhauls to provide you with better service. Thanks to those of you that have been patient with us, and we welcome kind and constructive feedback (and always a direct email to us to make something right!) in our efforts to live one of our core principles: Improve Every Day. Virtual Tasting: Behind The Scenes with Mitica Cheese  Sat, April 25 (6-7 pm): Featuring Mitica Cheese and Michele Buster - 13 tickets left!
This Saturday, we’re traveling behind the scenes in Italy, Spain, and even Croatia with Michele Buster; she travels the world in search of good cheese, makers, and stories and is going live with us to share them with you! Escape with us for an evening as we travel abroad! Ticket details here. You must be in Austin to partake in these tastings; we cannot ship this specific offering. Future goals! You’ll join us via a private video conferencing link to our GoToMeeting provided in a separate email sent the day of the tasting. This is to help avoid virtual meeting crashers. (This is not a Facebook Live tasting, and you’ll have to join at the exact live time.) Facebook Live with The Antonellis Join - To join a FB Live event, go to our Facebook page. At the designated time, click on “videos” on the left-hand column and find the “live” video. That’ll be us! Timing - If you can’t make it at 6 pm, that’s fine. The video is available on our Facebook page anytime after we’ve concluded around 7 pm.  Wed 4/29 (6-7 pm): Cheese 101 featuring Cheeses We Knew We Wanted to Carry in Shop (before opening 10 years ago) - Yeah, yeah. So we’ve gone a little off the radar lately with candy and junk food pairing classes, so we’re going back to our classic and most popular Cheese 101: The Seven Styles of Cheese. Only this time, we’ll be tasting cheeses we knew we wanted to carry before we opened the shop… and sharing the stories of why they initially caught our attention, why we wanted them as part of our brand, and how they exemplified our #DoGoodEatGood mission. (Note: There are 2 repeats from our 3/20 class but not since then for FB Live events - and all-new combinations of pairings.) More info and/or Purchase tickets here. Wed 5/6 (6-7 pm): Taste of California May is American Cheese Month! Hosted by the American Cheese Education Foundation, this is a month-long awareness campaign to promote American artisan producers… and it couldn’t come at a more important time. Some artisans have shut down, some are shifting to aged cheeses (not easy!), and others have sold their beloved herds. But this isn’t all doom and gloom. Instead, it’s a celebration of amazing cheeses made in California. We’ll be bringing in a few producers we don’t normally carry just for this fun tasting. A portion of all ticket sales will go to the ACE Foundation. More info and/or Purchase tickets here. Regularly-offered (virtual) classes by our Awesome Hosts  *Via private video conferencing links in GoToMeeting, sent out the day of the tasting. Small groups with a max size of 30. Can opt to have your camera on or off. Get tickets and more info to any of them by clicking on the calendar date here. (Note: We’ll be adding more topics in the next couple of days!)
Nationwide event - Support American Cheesemakers  Sat, April 25 (5 pm CDT - nationwide event!): American cheesemakers need you now more than ever. That’s why we’re banding together for a campaign to raise awareness for and show our love of American artisan cheeses. Unfortunately, one of the consequences of the current pandemic and shopping patterns is that grocery stores are understandably prioritizing stocking essentials. That means they’re not ordering from the artisans they’ve been so good at supporting. But all that cheese, for instance, is still made. And there are still animals producing milk every day. Just because there isn’t space at the unloading dock doesn’t mean the animals quit. So help us little guys support the little guys, and buy American and local cheeses through us - or any retailer!. Check out this quick video from Nettle Meadow Farm, makers of customer favorite and one of our top-selling cheeses, Kunik (a mixed milk cheese of goat milk and cow cream). Here’s how you can support this specific campaign and get involved: 1. Buy local and/or artisan cheese 2. Make a cheeseboard 3. Post a picture and tag @support_our_cheesemakers (IG) 4. Tune in Live! At 5 pm central on @supportourcheesemakers (FB) or on Instagram above How You Can Help Us Stay In Biz  From Austin:
From Anywhere in the United States:
Appreciations!  On Saturday, April 25th, local winery William Chris Vineyards will be hosting a live 10th Anniversary Party for their fans, and for the lucky 100 that placed their order first, there’s a perfectly paired Antonelli’s Cheese Shop spread in the store! Stay tuned for more collaborations from this partnership in the near future, and join the party on Saturday at 4 pm to see our own Certified Cheese Professional Alex Palomo make a guest appearance to talk about the featured cheeses. PHOTO Additionally, huge appreciations to A Cloud Guru for ordering 60+ custom cheese and wine gift baskets for their employees, allowing us a great opportunity to support local makers and partner with William Chris Winery. We also wanted to give a shoutout to Chubb Insurance, who is making an effort to support local businesses and purchased gift cards totaling $1000. Thank you to our personal J&M Insurance Services (and our personal insurance man Todd Michalowski)! Stay Cheese- y! 
John & Kendall And Your Awesome Cheesemonger Team |