How do I assess a cheese shop’s ageing room and cold storage?

Begin with the conditions. An ageing room depends on steady temperature and humidity, so ask for logs and check how the shop alerts staff if something drifts. Stand in the room. It should feel controlled, not damp or stale. Look at the walls, floor drains and shelving for mould or rust, and ask how cleaning is done without harming the product.

Then look at what is inside. Ask which cheeses are ageing, how they are tracked, who bought them and when they are due to be sold. Stock in an ageing room is slow-moving inventory, so ask your accountant how it is counted in the deal. Check labels and dating, and how the shop deals with product that turns.

Finally, inspect the machines. Ask about compressors, humidifiers and backup power, and what happens in an outage. Request service records and quotes for any pending repair. A reliable technician who knows the system is worth meeting. Check that the lease allows the building changes the room needs, and that insurance covers spoilage. Ask what the shop does with stock that spoils.

Key takeaways

• Ask for temperature and humidity logs and stand in the room yourself.
• Treat ageing stock as inventory that needs its own count and ownership check.
• Learn how the shop would cope with an equipment failure or outage.
• Ask about compressors, humidifiers and backup power, and request service records and quotes for any pending repair.