Name of business: Savor
Type of business: Gourmet grazing shop
Location: 138 S. Center St. in Turlock
Hours: 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday
Contact information: 209-638-2763, savor@savorcharcuterie.com
Specialty: Charcuterie boards and boxes, grocery items, pantry staples and home goods
History of business:
When Turlock resident Amy Navarra hosted a backyard charcuterie party in 2018, it was to simply gauge the community’s interest in the artistically-arranged appetizer. She couldn’t have imagined that just three years later, her business endeavor would grow from the confines of a small, commercial kitchen to a one-stop grazing shop in the heart of her home’s downtown.
Navarra celebrated the soft opening of Savor’s brand-new brick-and-mortar storefront on Tuesday, and with its doors opened a world of opportunity for Turlockers to either assemble their own grazing boards or order one from the experts behind the counter.
“I had set the intention early on in life to have something that was mine...but I didn’t know what that would manifest into,” Navarra said. “We’ve had plenty of highs and lows, so seeing it today finally come to fruition is unreal for me.”
Navarra quit her corporate job in 2019 to operate Savor full time, catering weddings, parties and business events, curating custom, individual boards and even teaching workshops on how to create gorgeous arrangements which taste as good as they look.
When the pandemic hit, Navarra was forced to pivot her business model and scale down the operation. She began offering to-go charcuterie boxes in different sizes for individuals and families, and even got creative by offering handheld charcuterie “cones.” Rather than experiencing great loss due to COVID, as has been the case with so many kitchen-based businesses, Savor was met with an outpouring of support and Navarra decided to expand the business last May.
She signed a lease on the space which formerly housed the Turlock Journal office on South Center Street, which would allow her to hire more employees and offer a unique shopping experience for customers. Nearly a year later, Navarra’s hard work has paid off and now provides the community with a place where they can purchase meats, cheeses and other charcuterie delicacies handpicked by the owner herself, grab a charcuterie box to go or utilize the grazing expertise of the Savor staff by placing an order.
It’s Navarra’s goal to cultivate “togetherness” through charcuterie, she said, and her new storefront will give customers a tasty, simple way to do so.
“You can literally throw anything on a board, and it’s scientifically proven that when you use your hands to do something while you’re talking, your brain releases a chemical that makes you feel safer,” Navarra said. “You instantly start making a more authentic connection with those around you.”
As Navarra prepares to celebrate Savor’s grand opening on March 27, she’s overwhelmed with gratitude for the opportunity to operate a business in historic downtown Turlock.
“I definitely had a lot of doubts and a lot of tears, but my family and the community really rallied around us and encouraged me to stay the course,” Navarra said. “I honestly can't believe I'm standing here today talking to you because it’s been quite the journey.”
