Only Cheese … and a dash of music

Veerle and Vera tell the story of the business while music from Tunify plays softly in the background.

Veerle discovered the world of cheese through her husband. Together, they took over the business from his parents. In 2020, it will be celebrating its 50th birthday. Today, you’ll find Kaasaffineurs Van Tricht at 2 locations in Antwerp. On the site of the De Koninck brewery, you’ll find the store Only Cheese, as well as the wholesale business. Just outside the city centre, there is a second, larger cheese store.

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Cheese plate with a pint from the brewery

Veerle: ‘We have been at this location since 2012, next to a butcher’s called Butcher’s Store and a restaurant, Black Smoke. The shop, Only Cheese, is a little smaller than our other store, but it has its own strengths. It’s next to the cheese ripening rooms in our wholesale business. As a result, you taste novelties first at Only Cheese.’

‘Besides that, you can order a cheese plate here, with or without a pint from the brewery next door,’ continues Veerle. ‘And finally, the location of Only Cheese is a huge added value. The entire neighbourhood comes here, young and old, rich and poor. As well as a huge number of tourists.’

Tasting with a dash of music

You may not immediately associate a cheese store with music, but the need for atmospheric music soon became clear. A bite of cheese in dead silence just doesn’t feel the same. ‘I tried the free demo from Tunify,’ explains Veerle. ‘First at home, then in the store. The app is so straightforward; you’re playing music before you know it.’

‘I was convinced it was the way to go and chose the royalty-free player,’ says Veerle. ‘We aren’t a pub or a bar. So we don’t need well-known music. This formula is a wonderful means of creating exactly the right atmosphere. And it’s far more pleasant for our staff to work this way.’

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Mostly peaceful instrumental numbers

Vera, who often stands behind the store counter, still remembers the time before Tunify played in the store: ‘We went a few weeks without music before we switched to Tunify. We turned Tunify on and everything immediately felt different. And not just for the people coming for a tasting. Music also creates a distraction if you need to stand in the queue.’

Now Vera starts Tunify every morning using the app on the store smartphone. She clicks on a few atmospheres and genres in Tunify Blue and that’s that. Vera: ‘I prefer the instrumental music. With well-known songs you like to hear the voice of the singer, but I find that less important with royalty-free music. Give me peaceful, instrumental jazz and blues.’

Suddenly developed a craving for a delicious cheese plate? Head straight down to Only Cheese by Kaasaffineurs Van Tricht!