Wine, cheese and coconut kefir: Frannie's Market owner sells her favorites
From her very first stint in a family friend’s bakery, Sarah Prasser has worked her way through a variety of jobs tied to food and hospitality. She traveled and tasted, working her way from Milwaukee to Uruguay. She learned what she liked, what she loved, and what she wanted to share with others.
It all came together in Frannie’s Market, W61 N486 Washington Ave., Cedarburg. She opened the small shop in November 2020 and offers a selection of deftly curated food and entertaining items, ranging from pantry staples and wines, baking necessities, pottery and plants, to a cheese counter stocked with some of her local favorites, including Hook’s 20-year cheddar.
A locally made coconut kefir made in Grafton by Kathleen McGlone of Slowpokes Natural Food was one of her staples from the beginning. When McGlone decided to retire and sell her longtime business, Prasser heard from fans of the niche product. In February, Prasser bought the dairy-free Slowpokes coconut kefir brand. Under McGlone’s guidance, she’s learned to make the dairy-free kefir in a variety of flavors and now has it back in her store and on local shelves.
She recently talked with us about how she got started, and how she's building her dream business.
She opened her business early in the pandemic
My entire career has been in restaurants, hospitality, food service and those things. My first job was working in a family friend’s bakery. I started as a kid packaging jimmies. I worked my way up to cake decorator. I worked in restaurants, event coordination, front of the house. It got to the point where I loved what I did, but the hours did not jive with my personal life. I was missing events with family and friends, then the pandemic happened. That March we all took a step back from being in person. It allowed me space to evaluate my career, what my priorities were, and how to navigate my passions with my career path.
I opened Frannie’s Market in November 2020. It was definitely a pandemic project, a very quick turnaround. From dream to reality it was six months. I worked hard, but everyone else was reinventing things, so I felt free. … This is a way I could be the food gal without being the literal host.
Decorating helped her find a direction
Cake decorating is still a skill I possess. That will never go away. I haven't done cakes for a while, but I was doing decorated cookies from my home for a bit. That did get me through the pandemic, and it is something I can pick up time and again. Yet for me, cake and cookies, that is one direction. Frannie's is a culmination of things that can take you through an entire meal, plus good gifts for foodies or a hosting.
Food is a love language (perfect for gifts)
I am not a knickknack, tchotchke person. I would rather give or get food gifts, or a bottle of wine, something to share.
She chose Cedarburg because she loved it
I grew up in Sussex, not far from here. We’d come to Cedarburg on Sundays. I have lived all over. When I returned from abroad, I was living in Sussex and working at Brandywine. That’s how I familiarized myself with Cedarburg again. That’s how I fell in love with it and moved here. It is a small community. I felt welcome and like I could make my mark and build my dream here.
She teaches charcuterie class and offers other classes
I teach the charcuterie board class. That’s the only one I teach personally. Milwaukee Terrarium comes and teaches a few classes. … I’m the food gal, not the plant lady. The charcuterie class includes custom cut board. Those have been really popular. We started doing those about two years ago.
We are limited with space. We can seat eight comfortably. We also work with Sweet Connection classes (by Mary Adashek). She teaches a pretzel bread class and a scone class, demonstration style, and we have samples and sips too. Moving forward I'd like to have more cooking demonstrations or themed courses.
More: Creating a charcuterie board with Wisconsin products is as easy as cheese and crackers
More: Creators feed people's love for charcuterie boards at Valentine's Day and all year
Her carefully curated collection inspired a dinner series
Using the products in the store, that was the impetus for the dinners. We host them all at Abloom farm in Saukville. They have two barns on the property, a small one that is great for rehearsal dinner and cocktail hour, a large barn for weddings, and the house has two wings that can be rented as Airbnb or as part of a wedding. The property is huge, with trails through the trees.
I have gotten to know the owner, and I love to support their business as well. We are a natural fit. The intention behind the dinners is to make it feel like we are welcoming someone to our home. We do a welcome drink, and people can mingle before we sit down and do the four-course meal. We just picked the dates for the fall, and will be announcing those soon.
More curated dinners are coming
We’ve done dinners one a month so far, and we're looking to do one about every three weeks moving forward. We’ll reassess for 2024. It is such a thoughtfully curated and intentionally welcome and down to earth experience. We haven't announced any menus ahead of time.
Dinners are kept small for an intimate feel
We just finished our second dinner. We did our first dinner in March. the first one sold out in 24 hours. and the other three dates sold out in 20 minutes. I am so grateful. We partner with Abloom, and my friend Casey Merrill is our chef partner. He’s been great, and his wife assists.
Dinner is for 12 people max. That is very intentional. We're not a restaurant. We don’t try to be a restaurant. This is an intimate dinner party of foodies who want to try something new. We do the four-course dinner and wine pairings.
Her current favorite wine to introduce to others
There is a grape that is native to Uruguay, Tannat. It is mild enough but it also stands up to grilled meats. That is a personal favorite. I love introducing it to people. It pulls on my heartstrings because I lived there (in Uruguay) for a while. I think it makes it better for the guests as well when there is a story behind the wine.
She began producing non-dairy coconut kefir
We were pretty much neighboring businesses with Slowpokes Local Food. Grafton and Cedarburg are a stone's throw away. I went into her store, she came to visit me. I started carrying the Slowpokes coconut kefir. That's how we started our business relationship.
It was a very popular item here. It introduced me to a whole world I don't have any experience with. I don't have food allergies, and she is an encyclopedia of knowledge when it comes to those things. I ate the kefir and I liked it. It is great for digestion, but it also exposed me to what a product fit is for people who don’t have a lot of options.
She became a great pal and women business owner inspiration. Then she announced her retirement. It was a hard pill to swallow that the kefir wouldn't exist anymore. It is non-dairy, and the plain has no flavor, no sweetener, so you can blend it with your herbs like sour cream and it is dip for your veggies or crackers. There are endless possibilities.
When I thought about the direction I want Frannie’s to go in the future, it felt like a good fit. We closed on the business sale in February. We work with Dreamport Market, 223 N. Franklin St. in Port Washington. We are doing production there on the farm property. So a shoutout to Ed and Peg Callahan for supporting us. They carried the kefir before, and they will continue to do so.
What else she wants you to know
We do offer some catering and grazing tables, like a charcuterie board on steroids. That requires delivery and set-up. We go to your home or event. We do a gorgeous spread of cheeses, meat, fresh fruit, veggies, dip. We've done those for cocktail hours or weddings. They make a great presentation, and they are customizable. That is always fun for us. We have slider sandwiches and assorted mini desserts on our catering menu as well.
We also have a cut to order cheese case. I use the Hook's five year (cheddar) on my charcuterie board and in my classes. It has nice flavor and that crystallized crunch, but not so sharp it will overpower other cheese and meats on your board.
More: Cheesemaker's $209-per-pound, 20-year cheddar is on the way
We try to keep it local as much as possible. The majority of things here are from the Midwest, but some are from other places. Good food is made everywhere.
Fork. Spoon. Life. explores the everyday relationship that local notables (within the food community and without) have with food. To suggest future personalities to profile, email psullivan@gannett.com.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Frannie's Market of Cedarburg helps with fine meals, foodie gifts
