Toque Blanche, a culinary store in Santa Cruz, CA, announced the soft opening of its shop-in-shop collaboration with French cookware brand Le Creuset.
Toque Blanche formally opens its Le Creuset Shop with a July 12 ribbon cutting. It marks the first such collaboration within an independent kitchenware store in California and one of six such partnerships in the United States, according to Toque Blanche owner Charles Nelson. Toque Blanche, which opened its store in downtown Santa Cruz in 2013, was recognized in 2016 as a U.S. winner of the gia (Global Innovation Award) for retailing excellence presented by the International Housewares Association.
The Le Creuset Shop at Toque Blanche presents a colorful display occupying the front of the store and the storefront window; this collaboration offers customers convenient access to popular styles and colors of Le Creuset enamel cast iron cookware, Nelson said. The shop features Dutch ovens, skillets, fry pans, bakeware and outdoor grilling cookware, as well as a range of kettles, mugs and tabletop accessories.
Demonstrations and tutorials from Toque Blanche staff and Le Creuset brand representatives are planned along with frequent promotions, Nelson said.
“This fun partnership has already brightened the space and made many of our frequent flier customers do a double take,” Nelson said. “There are so many colors available right now — it’s the best of Le Creuset!”
