Spread Market & Larder Launches New Wine Club

It’s hard to believe that today marks one year since Alex and Chad Kelly opened Spread Market & Larder in a charming converted house in Germantown at 1330 Fifth Ave. N. In the months since opening, the Kellys have bulked up on their stock of pantry essentials and specialty products, and Chad has really zoned in on the bread, pastry and condiment items that he creates in the kitchen for grab-and-go sale.

It took a few extra months to jump through the necessary hoops to acquire a wine license for real sales. Although customers can purchase beer, ciders, kombucha and hard seltzers to consume along with a sandwich at the store, wine is for home use only. To turn that little regulation irregularity into a positive, the Kellys have developed a new monthly wine club option designed to educate shoppers about some of the more obscure options that are stocked on the tall shelves of the wine room.

The Kellys admit that their merchandising methods come from a selfish space. “We buy what we like! We only sell what we drink,” explains Alex. The initial impetus came from the couple’s difficulty sourcing more exotic ingredients like tinned fish or gluten-free products to accommodate Alex’s celiac condition.

While they purchase local eggs and produce, the Kellys are not obsessed with sourcing locally and prefer to buy the best products they can find. The shelves at Spread are filled with international items that represent the couple’s culinary obsessions, and they seem to share a lot of the same preferences as the Germantown neighbors who drop by to grab lunch and staples for their own kitchens.

Among the most popular items at Spread are several varieties of garlic chili crisp, tinned tuna, salmon, mussels and scallops marinated in Spanish sauces and Graza olive oil. Interesting spice blends, hot sauces and hot honey are other fun flavor enhancers for your home pantry. Apparently, there is a new obsession with paella in Germantown, because the Kellys sell a lot of paella kits that include a pan that is appropriately sized for two to four diners along with bags of paella rice.

The bakery section of Spread features Chad’s creations from the tiny kitchen. All the breads are sourdough-based and use a starter that has passed through three bakers’ hands over more than 30 years. Chad uses that starter to bake baguettes, sandwich bread, a wildly popular cinnamon roll and frozen sourdough pizzas that customers can simply reheat at home. Each day from Wednesday through Sunday, Chad comes up with both a vegetarian and a meat-based specialty sandwich for dine-in or carry-out lunch. He also maintains a separate gluten-free kitchen to prepare allergy- and celiac-friendly foods. (If momma ain’t happy …)

Refrigerated cases are stocked with everything you need to create the dream “girl dinner”: charcuterie, chocolate, nuts, marinated olives, mustards and jams. Chad whips up cultured butter, herbed spreads and goat pimento cheese that are delightful when spread on a toasted slice of his sourdough.

So with all that great grazeable food on offer, customers often ask for a little guidance from the Kellys while shopping. Since they only stock their own personal culinary obsessions, they’re more than happy to share their enthusiasm and knowledge. This attitude has given birth to their next program, the Spread Things Wine Club.

Alex Kelly is not afraid to reach for the perfect wine to pair with your dinner

“Spread tells the story of everything we love — in one place. It has allowed me to dive into my interests in packaged goods, low-intervention wine, and sourdough," says Chad. "Alex and I designed Spread as a place to share our favorite things with our favorite people, and the Spread Things Wine Club is a cool new way to continue to do that. The best part of this business is talking about why we love the products and how we enjoy them at home. Each month, we will pick wines and a pantry product we can't stop talking about, and we will tell you what to do with them and why you should love them, too."

The club comes with three options. The Pairing Pack is $45/month and includes one bottle of a current favorite wine paired with one pantry item, including tasting notes and ideas for how to use them together.

Don’t expect explicit recipes though. The Kellys know the frustration of buying some specialty item just because it’s included in one recipe you want to cook and then watching it sit unused on the shelf until all the flavor has dried out and the expiration date is long passed. Instead, they want to tell their customers how to use their favorite pantry items as part of a weekly kitchen vernacular. Use it four times before next month’s Pairings Pack shipment is ready, and it will become a part of your regular repertoire.

"Everything at Spread was intentionally chosen for the product itself, as well as the branding and the story behind the business," says Alex. "Nothing is more exciting than sharing our favorite wines and pantry things with customers in a new way. Not only will you walk away with cool products, but you will get tips on how to enjoy them and use them in your everyday life."

The second wine club option is the Try Me, $50 for two wines plus tasting notes, or you can go big with the Try Me Double, four wines for $100. Each club option is available monthly or as a three-month or six-month subscription. Purchasers will be billed for the first month at the time of purchase and then monthly on the 5th of the month. Wine Club options will be available for pickup after the 15th each month, and club members will enjoy 10 percent off in-store purchases as long as they are active subscribers.

It’s really special when people are willing to open up and share their passions with you, even more so when they are delicious obsessions. If you haven’t checked out Spread Market & Larder yet or if you’re a regular customer, the new wine club should offer yet another reason to stop by and see what the Kellys are currently vibing on!

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