Canyon Grocer up and running at 169 W Channel Road
By Dolores Quintana
Cheesemonger Kurt Gurdal has opened a grocery shop in Santa Monica Canyon to meet the area’s cheese and fine food needs.
The market is called Canyon Grocer and is located at 169 W Channel Road. Gurdal is a second-generation cheesemonger who grew up eating goat cheese on toast and with this new store is expanding his private business of ten years which caters to private parties, does cheese tastings and pairings, and sells cheeses and charcuterie boards as well as holding cheese pairing classes and making gift boxes. The market will also be stocked with products from specialty producers who “have passion and dedication to their craft.” and will include both hard-to-find and everyday grocery items according to the new store’s press release
“The first few months of Canyon Grocer have been amazing and we are so grateful! The community welcomed us to the neighborhood with open arms right from the start. It brings us a ton of joy when you start to see regulars come down for milk and eggs every week and our sandwiches being packed in school lunches. It was also great experience to see our first holiday season full of orders for gift boxes and charcuterie platters. We are excited for what 2024 has in store and plan to do cheese tastings along with other events,” Gurdal said. “We are so happy to be part of the Canyon and look forward to continue servicing the community with great food from great producers.”
Gurdal stresses his passion for cheese and says, via a press release, “Although I literally grew up immersed in cheese, becoming a cheesemonger still requires formal training. So I began mine at Neal’s Yard Dairy in London, which has the reputation of being one of the world’s best shops — and is truly an institution of British Isle cheese.” He learned this passion from his parents Ihsan and Valerie Gurdal, owners of the world-renowned cheese shop, Formaggio Kitchen.
Customers can call Gurdal at 310-592-4196 or email him at kurt@kurtandwhey.com to order specialty items or for more information or go to the Kurt and Whey site. Canyon Grocer is open seven days a week, with store hours from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and Sunday from 9:30 to 5:30 p.m.
