Sydney Food Emporium Salt Meats Cheese to Open First Queensland Store

Queenslanders, there's some unfathomably good cheesery coming your way. Sydney's renowned food emporium Salt Meats Cheese is set to open their first interstate store in Surfers Paradise in early July.

Modelled on the Sydney warehouse store, the new food emporium will take over 200 square metres within urban village precinct, The 4217 — with a dedicated cheese and meat room, imported and local artisan cheeses, fresh salads, wood-fired pizza, charcuterie delights and even artisan salt at the ready. Yep, artisan salt.

So why the northern venture? Salt Meats Cheese co-director Stefano de Blasi saw plenty of potential for an unconventional deli in the beachside city, bringing a little something different (and familiar) to both visitors and locals alike. "This new hub is all about enhancing the lifestyle of locals and offering tourists a taste of home," he says. "It's not just an Italian deli. We pull together local artisan ingredients with hard-to-find products from Spain, Italy and South America." Salt Meats Cheese will be run by de Blasi's friend Alessandro Vicinanza, who'd managed the Meat Room within the Sydney store for over a year, and his partner Korine Skinner.

Importantly, Salt Meats Cheese isn't a passive Italian eatery. De Blasi sees a strong need for customers to enjoy some traditional Italian food at the store, then feel empowered to become MasterChefs in their own kitchens. "The store in Surfers Paradise is a place to grab a quick panino or wood-fired pizza and then buy everything you need — the flour, the Mutti tomatoes, the hand-stretched mozzarella — to make that pizza at home," he says. To make things even easier, you'll be able to sign up for cooking classes instore — learn how to make pasta, butcher meat properly and perfect your homemade pizzas.

Find Salt Meats Cheese within The 4217, Surfers Paradise from early July. More details to come.