I've been planning to make French onion soup sometime this week, and I finally got out to run some errands. Since The Rochester Public Market (280 Union St. N.) was open, I figured VM Giordano Import, Inc., European Cheese Shop (6 Public Market) would also be open. Alas, this is not the case.

But fortunately, the owner [or, more properly, some guy I presumed to be the owner or one of the owners] was picking up some mail at the time. Everything was packed away, but he was nice enough to grab some Gruyeres from the cooler and sell me half-a-pound. He said that they are open Saturdays during Market hours, but they are no longer open on the other days — except during the holidays when they're open more. Also, he invited me to call if I had a specific item I wanted so we could arrange a time to pick it up.

Definitely the benefit of a locally-owned small shop.