Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Davis and Heather Bragg.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Amy and Heather. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
It all started with a birthday trip to Temecula for some wine tasting. We were driving in the car and decided we needed to eat before all that drinking. I started searching yelp in Temecula and had found a cheese shop. For years I had been trying to get Heather to go to a cheese shop in Ventura County that I loved but it just never worked out, so I was really excited to finally be able to take her to one. Her response was, “Cheese? But I’m hungry”. I told her I promised if she was still hungry there was a steakhouse right there that we could go to. We walked into the shop and of course because I was determined to help her find her “cheesy side”, we ordered the biggest platter we could which included wine tastings.
Needless to say, we never made it to wine tasting and spent a few hours at this shop. Heather turned to me and said, “Fullerton needs one of these”. She describes this as the moment when she knew she was in trouble because my eyes lit up and I said “YOU’RE RIGHT” and two weeks later I hired a courier to head to the capital to file our paperwork and I called her up and said “pick a name because we are opening a cheese shop”. When people ask us this question, heather will tell you the story just like this. When people ask me how we came up with this idea, my response is…… “We got drunk”. We have been friends so long now and we are basically sisters at this point. We are polar opposites but work well together and I truly believe that what one lacks the other excels at.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has not been a smooth road and I’d say money was the biggest challenge. We started this shop on a shoestring budget. Neither one of us comes from money and this idea only came to fruition because my Mom had recently passed away and left me a small amount of money. I didn’t want to just waste the money away by paying bills, etc. I wanted to do something fun that would honor my mom and would last for years. So when my eyes lit up during our cheese shop visit, my exact thought was “This is it! I never expected to have this money and I had realized that I could follow this love of cheese I have had for so long, with my best friend.
We have been friends for almost 40 years now and I knew this would be an amazing experience for us. We would have something together in life that was significant in addition to our friendship. This shop was literally built by family all coming together to help Heather and I achieve this dream. My siblings, her parents, her husband and our children have all shed blood, sweat and tears while jumping hurdles to get this place open. Now that we have been open nearly a year, I’d say our biggest struggle during this time has been getting to know our specific community market – what their likes & dislikes are and knowing how far we can push their flavor adventures, while successfully keeping our cheese case stocked and product rotating.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Let It Brie story. Tell us more about the business.
We are a cheese shop and cafe. You can come into our shop and purchase cheese straight from the case but we most known for our cheese boards. We are often told that our boards surpass many that are found in restaurants and shops they frequented prior to us. We share the story of each cheese they taste and try to take our customers on cheese adventures. We strive to make personal connections with each of our customers. The rule for anyone who works in our shop is that when the door opens we all say “Hi, Welcome” and that we learn at least ONE thing from each customer so that the next time they come in they feel as though they are a part of our extended family.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
We don’t believe in luck. There are always ups & downs and crazy twists & turns. You just have to roll with them!
Contact Info:
- Address: 117 E. Commonwealth Ave.
Fullerton, CA 92832 - Website: www.letitbrie.com
- Phone: (714) 519-3094
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @letitbrie_oc
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/letitbrieoc/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/let-it-brie-fullerton-3?osq=let+it+brie
Image Credit:
Bill Dodge Photography
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