Avocado and Cheese LLC., For Your Food Grazing Needs

Foodie fans rejoice! Avocado and Cheese is a delectable delight offering customized charcuterie-style graze boards, platters, and tables suitable for any occasion or just because. The aesthetically pleasing fresh food commonly garners one reaction: Ah-Mazing! All the boards offer a bounty of choices from cheeses, meats, fruits, veggies, nuts, carbs, and pastries; and they also offer vegetarian/vegan packages, as well as special themes.

Alisa Gafeney, owner of Avocado and Cheese, has loved creating foods based on entertaining and bringing folks together for quite some time, and back in May, she decided to mold that love into launching the business. This passion project has quickly transferred onto an equally enthusiastic customer base, and we had the privilege to chat with Alisa about her journey and all things Avocado and Cheese.

Tell us a little bit about yourself: Are you from Toledo? Have you always had a passion for food? What was the thing that made you take the plunge to start Avocado and Cheese?
I’m from Toledo, born and raised. I am a school nurse for Toledo Public Schools and I also teach nursing classes at Owens Community College. I have an 18-year-old daughter, Nasyah, who will be turning 19 at the end of July. I got into food and entertaining when she was little. I liked to make cakes for her birthday. Of course, she got too old for that, so I got out of making cakes, but I always wanted to get back into doing food and entertainment. Avocado and Cheese is a quarantine idea. With more time, I was scrolling through Instagram and saw some interesting food posts of other ladies in different states and cities. I even found a whole cheese board community on Instagram! I thought it was a great idea and decided to try it. So goes the story and it was born.

How did you come up with the name Avocado and Cheese?
My daughter and I love avocados. We have a mother and daughter tattoo of an avocado. I have the pit and she doesn’t. And I thought, “Hey, I like avocado and I’m doing cheese.”

Who created your logo and who is doing the photography of your food for your social media pages?
My cousin drew up my logo and I take the photos. I really enjoy doing it!

Being influenced from Instagram pages, it’s obvious that the aesthetics and quality of food are equally important to you. Where do you get your food from and where do you get your inspiration of how to visually create your boards, platters, and tables?
I get all the food from local places, and believe it or not, I get inspired on the fly. I put the cheeses and meats down first and go for it.

On your Facebook page, we see you have a listed menu of different graze sizes and that you also offer vegetarian/vegan grazes. Do you have a set menu for the vegetarian/vegan option or if someone wants to order one, are you carving out the options individually with them based on what they want?
A little bit of both. I have a menu, but I’m new to vegan so I show them what I have and work with them, so definitely a combination.

How can people help support your business and what has been the most helpful thing folks have done to help you grow?
I’ve had a very positive reaction quickly, which surprised me, but I think it is totally awesome. Liking my Facebook page and Instagram page is good, along with liking my posts and ordering! I am in the works of getting a website developed which should be coming soon.

What are your long-term plans for Avocado and Cheese insofar as what you would like to do next?
I would love to have a food truck eventually. That would be awesome!!!

Avocado and Cheese is constantly thinking outside the box, and since our chat, they recently added pop-up picnic packages for some summertime fun! The great thing about Avocado and Cheese is that they offer packages of ALL sizes – from individual to larger groups – so they will customize the order to fit your needs. They also allow for pick-up or delivery. Delivery charge within Toledo is $5 and outside of Toledo is $10. We’re thrilled to see a business like this in Toledo and encourage you all to give Avocado and Cheese a try!

You can follow and contact Avocado and Cheese, LLC at:
www.facebook.com/avocadoandcheese
www.instagram.com/avocado.and.cheese
email: avocadoandcheese1@gmail.com
Phone: (419) 360-0015