France 44

What France 44 does

France 44 is a privately held, family-owned specialty food and beverage retailer founded in the 1950s in Minneapolis by the Anderson family and now in its third generation of ownership. The company operates a flagship dual-concept location at 4351 France Avenue South combining a Wines & Spirits store and a Cheese & Meat shop, supplemented by two satellite locations in St. Paul — the St. Paul Cheese Shop and the St. Paul Meat Shop — plus an in-store private events venue. Core offerings span retail wine, beer, spirits, sake, non-alcoholic beverages, and kegs; cut-to-order artisan cheese and a whole-animal butcher program with rotisserie chickens and sandwiches; off-site and on-site catering including grazing tables, custom cakes, and bartending; cooking, wine, and cheese classes; and recurring programs including Club 44 membership, Wine of the Month and Cheese of the Month subscriptions, and the Cellar Select newsletter for rare and allocated bottles.

The business makes money through seven distinct revenue streams: transactional retail of wine/spirits and cheese/meat, professional services catering and private event venue rental, recurring subscription clubs and the Club 44 membership, and one-time gift products (gift cards, custom and artisan gift boxes, and business gifting). Distribution is omnichannel: physical retail across four Twin Cities locations, the company's own e-commerce site at shop.france44.com, ChowNow for prepared food ordering, DoorDash for local delivery, and Table22 for subscription management. Customer segments are consumer-led — wine and spirit enthusiasts, cheese connoisseurs, and home cooks as primary personas — with secondary use cases in event hosting, catering, and business gifting. Pricing is per-bottle for retail ($15-60 noted on wines), hourly for labor ($18-35 depending on role), and quote-based for catering, classes, and venue rentals.

Underlying technology is intentionally light: the company explicitly carries no proprietary technology platform, relying instead on Lightspeed POS at the Wines & Spirits store plus off-the-shelf integrations (DoorDash, ChowNow, Table22). Competitive positioning rests on heritage (three-generation ownership, 70+ year history), credentialed talent (multiple WSET Levels 1-3, Certified Cheese Professionals, and a Certified Cicerone), artisan sourcing relationships (Pleasant Ridge Reserve, Peterson Craft Meats, Kadejan Market), and an integrated retail/experiential/recurring model that consolidates wine, cheese, meat, education, catering, and event hosting under one roof — a combination that is difficult for single-category competitors to replicate in the Twin Cities market.

Name

France 44

Legal name

France 44

Website

https://france44.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1950

Operating status

Operating

Short description

France 44 is a third-generation, family-owned Minneapolis specialty food and beverage retailer operating a flagship Wines & Spirits and Cheese & Meat shop, two St. Paul satellite stores, and a private events venue. It serves Twin Cities consumers with curated wine, spirits, artisan cheese, whole-animal butcher cuts, catering, classes, and subscription clubs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Food & Beverage Retail

NAICS

Beer, Wine, and Liquor Retailers (445320)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Wine Shops (Off-Premise) (CRANAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Alcohol Subscription & Wine Clubs (Retail) (CRANABAF), Specialty Wine-Adjacent Food Stores (Cheese/Gourmet Pairings) (CRAHAGAK), Bar & Beverage Catering (Mobile Bar, Bartending) (HSACAGAF)

Keywords

• Specialty food retail
• Wine and spirits shop
• Artisan cheese shop
• Catering services
• Cooking classes

Headquarters

HQ city

Minneapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Retail Sales - Wine, Spirits, Beer: Physical and online retail sales of wine, spirits, beer, and non-alcoholic beverages from the Wines & Spirits store location
2. Retail Sales - Cheese and Meat: Specialty cheese shop and whole animal butcher shop sales including cut-to-order cheese, cured meats, and fresh cuts
3. Catering Services: Off-site catering and event catering including cheese & charcuterie trays, grazing tables, lunch, appetizers, salads, and bartending services
4. Classes and Education: Cooking classes, wine classes, cheese classes, and specialty classes (like Sake) offered through the store
5. Membership Clubs: Club 44 membership, Wine of the Month club, Cheese of the Month club, and Cellar Select newsletter with exclusive deals
6. Private Events Venue: Private event venue rental including food and beverage service for parties and corporate events
7. Gift Products: Gift cards, custom gift boxes, artisan gift boxes, and business gifting services

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels13 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

France 44 is a Minneapolis-based specialty food and beverage retailer combining a Wines & Spirits shop (wine, beer, spirits, sake, non-alcoholic beverages, wine storage, kegs), a Cheese & Meat Shop (cut-to-order artisan cheese, whole-animal butchery, sandwiches, rotisserie chickens), and a Private Events venue, with satellite St. Paul locations. The company also sells gift products, runs subscription clubs (Wine of the Month, Cheese of the Month, Club 44, Cellar Select), offers cooking/wine/cheese classes, and provides off-site catering and bartending services for private and corporate events.

Product overview

France 44 is a Minneapolis-based specialty food and beverage retailer with three integrated business units: a Wines & Spirits shop (offering wine, beer, spirits, non-alcoholic beverages, sake, wine storage, and kegs), a Cheese & Meat Shop (featuring cut-to-order artisan cheese, a whole-animal butcher program, rotisserie chickens, and sandwiches), and a Private Events venue. The company also operates two satellite locations in St. Paul (Cheese Shop and Meat Shop). Additional offerings include catering services (cheese/charcuterie trays, lunch, appetizers, grazing tables, custom cakes, bartending), educational classes (cooking, wine, cheese), private event hosting, and subscription programs (Club 44 membership, Wine of the Month club, Cheese of the Month club, and Cellar Select newsletter). Products are available for online ordering via DoorDash delivery and ChowNow, with in-store and e-commerce shopping at shop.france44.com.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Club 44: Wine and spirits membership club offering monthly selections and discounts.
• Wine of the Month Club
• Cheese of the Month Club
• Cellar Select

Products and services

• Wines & Spirits Shop Retail wine, beer, spirits, non-alcoholic beverages, sake, wine storage, and keg sales at the Minneapolis flagship Wines & Spirits store, with online ordering for pickup and DoorDash local delivery.
• Cheese & Meat Shop Cut-to-order artisan cheese, whole-animal butcher cuts, sandwiches, and rotisserie chickens sold at the Minneapolis Cheese & Meat Shop, with online ordering via ChowNow.
• St. Paul Cheese Shop A separate cheese-focused retail location in St. Paul operated by France 44, offering artisan cheeses and specialty foods.
• St. Paul Meat Shop A separate specialty meat retail location in St. Paul operated by France 44, featuring whole-animal butcher cuts.
• Catering Services Off-site and on-site catering including cheese and charcuterie trays, lunch, appetizers, salads, veggies, dessert, grazing tables, custom cakes, and bartending services for events of various sizes.
• Private Events Venue Private event venue rental at the Minneapolis flagship including on-site food and beverage service and party packages such as summer parties for personal and corporate events.
• Classes Educational cooking classes, wine classes, cheese classes, sake and other specialty classes, plus pop-up events, available through the online classes store and giftable via Gift-a-Class.
• Gifts Gift cards, custom gift boxes, artisan gift boxes, business gifting services, and Gift-a-Class products for personal and corporate gift-giving occasions.
• Club 44 Membership Annual membership program providing members with benefits and discounts at the store plus exclusive access to products, tastings, and events.
• Wine of the Month Club Monthly curated wine subscription delivering selected wines to members or available for in-store pickup, managed via the Table22 platform.
• Cheese of the Month Club Monthly curated cheese subscription delivering selected artisan cheeses to members or available for in-store pickup, managed via the Table22 platform.
• Cellar Select Monthly newsletter offering subscribers access to a rotating selection of rare, allocated, and standout wines and spirits at significant discounts.

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Bedford Cheese Shop: Specialty cheese retailer with cheesemonger service, classes, and curated accompaniments. Mirrors France 44's credentialed-staff, education-first specialty cheese retail format.
• Formaggio Kitchen: Cambridge and Boston specialty retailer offering cheese, charcuterie, wine, pantry, and catering with deep staff expertise. Comparable artisan-curation philosophy and brick-and-mortar-plus-catering structure.
• K&L Wine Merchants: Specialty wine, spirits, and gourmet food retailer combining a flagship store, multiple warehouses, and a strong e-commerce channel. Comparable to France 44 in curation depth, rare/allocated allocation, and multi-channel wine retail.
• Surdyk's: Minneapolis-based gourmet food, wine, cheese, and gift retailer offering classes, catering, and an in-store cafe. Most direct local competitor to France 44, with overlapping product mix and similar specialty education focus.
• Murray's Cheese: Iconic NYC specialty cheese shop with retail counter, classes, wholesale, and bar/restaurant. Closely mirrors France 44's cheesemonger-led, cut-to-order, class-driven cheese retail model.
• Di Bruno Bros. Philadelphia cheesemonger and specialty foods retailer with multiple locations, gift boxes, and curated meats. Comparable to France 44 in artisan cheese, cured meats, gift business, and educational class programming.

Broad incumbents

• Total Wine & More: Largest U.S. specialty beer, wine, and spirits retailer with national footprint. Represents the scaled, broad-format incumbent that France 44 differentiates against via curation, expertise, cheese, and event services.
• Zabar's: Iconic NYC specialty food retailer offering cheese, meats, smoked fish, coffee, and housewares. Comparable as a heritage, multi-category gourmet destination with strong brand recognition and curated gift business.

Regional players

• Haskell's: Long-standing Twin Cities wine and spirits retailer with multiple locations. Competes with France 44 on fine wine selection and customer relationships but lacks its cheese/butcher/event breadth.
• Solo Vino: Small Minneapolis wine shop and bar focused on Italian and natural wines. Shares France 44's Minneapolis address and curated small-format retail approach but is narrower in category scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/france44mpls
• Instagraminstagram.com/france_44
• TikToktiktok.com/@france44cheese
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/france-44

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about France 44