Two cruise ships, AIDANova and Balmoral, are docked while the fog has settled over Jugendbyen. The tourists stroll around the city’s streets, and this is something you can clearly see at Delicatessen Løvenvold.
– There are many more people who stop by on the days when the cruise ships visit the city. And then we can have anything from twice as much turnover as normal to as much as eight times as much, says assistant store manager for Delicatessen Løvenvold, Thomas Ertresvåg.
Ålesund is Norway’s largest cruise port with as many as 300 calls this year.
– It is alpha and omega for us, because it brings an enormous amount of traffic into the store. It is incredibly important to us that so many ships come to the city, says Ertresvåg.
– Had to go into the store
On this day, two British women were hunting. They were supposed to have coffee, but it didn’t happen that way. Instead, the journey suddenly stopped in Løvenvoldgata.
– I have never seen cheese presented as it was on one wall, and I was so fascinated that I just entered the shop, says Patsy Holbrook.
– We were looking for a place where we could buy coffee, but all the cheese we saw through the window from the street made us change our plans, says Tricia Hughes.
– The location of the store is perfect. And there is no doubt that that wall attracts a lot of attention. I see the tourists gaping as they take pictures. And then they come in afterwards. Many people think the cheeses on the wall are real and wonder how much they weigh. But it’s probably fake, says Ertresvåg.
– Great tasting
The female tourists were very impressed by the selection at Delicatessen Løvenvold. And then they were pleasantly surprised by an offer they were not used to, which meant that one of them bought unknown cheeses.
– We did not expect to find such a great cheese shop here in Ålesund. It was incredibly gratifying as we both love cheese, says Holbrook.
– I’m not the most adventurous, so I tend to go for the cheeses that I’m sure of, but the fact that I could taste the different cheeses meant that I bought cheeses that I wouldn’t normally have ventured into. It’s brilliant to be able to taste so many different cheeses, says Hughes.
– It’s very nice to hear, and I’ve also heard several others say that. It gives me pride to receive such feedback from customers, says Ertresvåg.
– Loves to shop
It is said that cruise tourists don’t shop on land, but these two women can’t help it.
– We both love to shop, so it doesn’t matter if we have everything we need on board. We shop anyway when we go ashore, says Holbrook.
Ertresvåg greatly appreciates the tourists for more reasons than the skyrocketing turnover.
– It’s a lot of fun to have them come to the store. They are very curious about Norwegian cheeses, and brown cheese in particular. Because there is something mysterious and exotic that they have heard about, that they want to see with their own eyes. And many also buy a small piece home as a souvenir.
– The tourists are positive, cheerful and have many questions. Although it is mostly English and German tourists who come by, we have had people from all corners of the world.
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