Table's Setting Earns Accolades
By Anne Bond Emrich

GRAND RAPIDS — Amy Ruis' specialty is gaining her some national recognition.

Gourmet News named Ruis, owner of Art of the Table on Wealthy Street, one of the nation's top 20 rising stars under the age of 40 in the gourmet food industry. Ruis opened her specialty food, beverage and tabletop accessory store just one year ago.

According to Gourmet News, Ruis, 33, is a "top performer" in the industry and one of the young "stars to watch." The national business newspaper reports on news affecting the retailing and distribution of specialty foods and related products. Its subscribers include gourmet stores, upscale supermarkets and department stores, specialty food distributors, importers and other industry professionals.

The newspaper solicited its readers for nominations of retailers, distributors, importers and suppliers to all segments of the gourmet food and kitchenware industries who have distinguished themselves before reaching the age of 40, according to Editor Anna Wolfe.

"These individuals have been instrumental in their businesses' growth, executed their business plans and have a clear future direction," Wolfe said.

"We were really impressed with Amy's down-to-earth approach to our industry. She does appear to be an up-and-coming visionary in the gourmet/kitchenware retail industry, and she does have a depth of experience for someone who's quite young."

Gourmet News editorial staff and executives of its parent company, United Publications, whittled down a list of nearly 100 nominees from across the nation to semifinalists, then finalists. Ruis was the only nominee currently living in Michigan, Wolfe noted.

Art of the Table carries "storied" wines from unique vineyards, microbrews from around the world and fine liquors. Specialty foods include olive oils and vinegars, Artisan cheeses and crackers, tapenades, mustards and spreads and hard-to-find items such as truffles, caviars and pate. It offers an array of tabletop furnishings like unique serving pieces, linens, glassware and barware, among other entertaining accessories. The store also offers custom-made specialty gift baskets.

Ruis describes her business as "a unique entertainment resource" geared to helping people entertain well and enjoy good food, drink and atmosphere.

Ruis said she "got the retail bug" at age 15 when she went to work for a bookstore. She earned a degree in elementary education from Calvin College in 1993. Prior to opening Art of the Table in October 2003 she had worked as a store manager for an upscale kitchenware store in Breton Village mall.

A friend of her family owned the store and asked Ruis to manage it so she could spend more time with her firstborn. Ruis subsequently took over all the buying, hiring, training and managing.

"The owner went off to have a baby and kind of left me in charge for five years. It was there I discovered my love of the products, good food and for entertaining well. We started having lots of dinner parties, and it just kind of snowballed."

Following her five-year stint as a kitchenware store manager, she served as a manufacturer's rep for 28 kitchenware companies in Michigan and, later, as a wholesale buyer for Grand Rapids-based J. Mollema & Son, a lawn and garden distributor.

Ruis opened Art of the Table in a 1,200-square-foot storefront at 606 Wealthy St. SE in Uptown's Wealthy Street Business District, in part because she lives in Heritage Hill.

"It's cool that I can walk to work, enjoy my own neighborhood and get to know people here. I've looked at stores around the country and I've always loved the ones that were in neighborhoods vs. locations like 28th Street. I'm not a big fan of malls or strip malls.

"I was always searching for a place where I could have a kind of cozy environment that would make people feel like somebody was really taking care of them. This is a place I hope appeals to all of people's senses and encourages them to come back."

Another reason she chose the location, which is right next to the Wealthy Street Bakery, was because the bakery had been "hugely successful" in the neighborhood. She also found that bakery customers had started asking for the kinds of products she wanted to sell.

"It had always been my dream, and my husband said: 'Just go ahead.' All of my family and friends have been really supportive of this venture."

Her goal for fiscal 2004 was to achieve sales of $265,000, a goal she surpassed nearly three months prior to the company's first anniversary.     BJX