Downtown Northport is getting a cheese shop. Kaleigh Bernier, the founder of Block Island Charcuterie, announced in September that after six years of running a seasonal charcuterie business on the Rhode Island island, she is opening her first brick-and-mortar store, and she is opening it in downtown Northport. The shop is called RIND by Block Island Charcuterie, and it is under construction now.

From a ferry island to Main Street

Block Island Charcuterie built its name on made-to-order boards and grazing tables for the island's weddings, parties and happy hours, a business that runs with the Block Island season. Its menu of boards scales from a two-to-four-person board at $85 up to a $220 spread that serves eight to ten, along with vegetable and fruit boards, grazing tables for parties of fifteen or more, and in-home board-building workshops. The business was named a Best of Rhode Island 2026 winner by Rhode Island Monthly this summer.

The Northport shop moves that trade to a year-round storefront on this side of the Sound. Bernier announced the project on her public page on September 18, telling followers the rumors were true and inviting them to follow along through construction. Since then the updates have come steadily: demolition and framing photographs, paint palettes and tile samples, light fixtures, and deliveries she has described as one box closer to opening.

A team, and a running conversation with the neighbors

The shop has already made its first addition. Bernier announced this month that Sunnie Martensen has joined RIND, writing that one of the best parts of building the business has been working alongside talented friends.

She has also put the stock list up for a vote. In a September post addressed to Northport, Bernier asked residents what cheeses the shop absolutely could not open without, and the answers rolled in: Humboldt Fog, Midnight Moon, horseradish cheddar, honey goat, aged British and Canadian cheddars, Moliterno al Tartufo. The comment section reads like an opening-day shopping list.

What to expect, and when

Bernier has not yet posted an opening date; her pages label the shop coming soon, and the build-out continues. The concept follows the business she has run for six seasons: cheeses, cured meats and accompaniments assembled into boards, with the shop bringing that to a walk-in counter in one of the North Shore's busiest village downtowns.

Northport's Main Street has been collecting food-and-drink neighbors for years, from its brewery to its bakeries and restaurants, and a dedicated cheese and charcuterie counter adds a category the village does not currently have. Followers can watch the construction updates on the Block Island Charcuterie pages as the shop heads toward its opening.

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