Fior Di Latte will combine local and global flavors in their charcuterie to-go kits

While some shops try to provide a taste of home for their customers, Long Beach’s newest cheese shop, Fior Di Latte, has a vastly different idea.

The newest shop to pop up at the Hangar in Long Beach is a result of worldly travels and culinary experiences from Connie and Steven Alvarenga, a local Long Beach couple.

While the COVID-19 pandemic took away one of the couple’s favorite hobbies of visiting various countries, it inspired the Alvarengas to introduce one of their favorite parts of traveling back home: different meats and cheeses of the world.

“We started thinking of different ideas where we can incorporate those experiences that we love so much,” Connie Alvarenga said. “At first we started brainstorming like, ‘How can we bring unique experiences overall?’ Because that’s kind of what we were yearning for.”

Thanks to that yearning, Long Beach now has a one-of-a-kind charcuterie shop where residents can enjoy a platter of carefully-sourced and intricately arranged cured meats and artisanal cheeses without the hassle.

The storefront for Fior Di Latte, a take-out style charcuterie shop, sits inside of the Long Beach Exchange. (Courtesy of Connie Alvarenga)

At Fior Di Latte, customers can choose between various types of cheese, meat, dried fruit, nuts, bread, crackers and sweets and take it to-go to enjoy with a picnic, event or at home.

There are three sizes of charcuterie boxes that fit anyone’s price range, from a single-serve “On The Go” option to a “Graze & Gather” box that feeds up to four people. Soon Alvarenga will introduce a fully-vegan box (they already offer four different plant-based cheeses such as brie, chevre, gruyere and an herb mixture) and a kid-friendly box.

“There’s already a few cheese shops in the area [so] we want to be a little different, to bring a little twist to it,” Alvarenga said. The name Fior Di Latte means “flower of milk” in Italian and is inspired by one of Alvarenga’s favorite culinary destinations.

The Alvarengas have been planning the shop’s opening for about a year, taking their time to carefully choose each of the cheeses and meats in their charcuterie offerings. While the goal is to combine local and global flavors in the months to come, Alvarenga chose to create local partnerships before branching out across countries.

Residents will be delighted to see fresh baguettes from Gusto Bread, another Latinx-owned Long Beach business, every Saturday and Sunday and four-ounce cheese packages from Bohemian Creamery to pair with the crispy loafs.

An assortment of cured meat, artisanal cheeses, dried fruit, nuts and snacks can be purchased take-out style at Fior Di Latte in the Long Beach Exchange. (Courtesy of Connie Alvarenga)

Most of the cheeses at Fior Di Latte come from Northern California, such as a triple creme cheese from Cambria, a craft-beer cheddar from Modesto and a soft-ripened cheese laced with ground espresso beans and roasted bay nuts from Sebastopol. The vegan cheeses all come from Rebel Cheese in Austin, Texas and the crackers are from Rustic Bakery in Petaluma, California.

Alvarenga is already talking to a butcher shop in Spain to bring some of their meats to Fior Di Latte, and is rolling out a new surprise product for Mother’s Day weekend that is sure to please at any family gathering.

As a new mother herself, Alvarenga said that Fior Di Latte is about much more than food or even travel. Her and her husband Steven have been raising a newborn while simultaneously raising a business from the ground up.

“It’s been hard but it’s also been fun … Just being able to be on this journey with [my baby] and have him be part of it and bring him into the store,” Alvarenga said. “To instill the importance of making a difference in the community, making an impact on people and of starting a brand or a company that inspires change within the city and brings a unique perspective. So that’s something we’re excited to teach him and just share with everyone as well.”

Fior Di Latte is having a grand opening celebration on Saturday, April 29 from 1:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. or until supplies last. The shop is located at 4150 McGowen St. and will be open Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from noon to 6 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from noon to 7 p.m.

There will be a 10% discount on all items for the first month of operation. Follow Fior Di Latte on Instagram at @fiordilatte.cheeseshop for updates on the shop.