Salve Regina grad’s Bellevue Boards opens storefront in Newport

First brick-and-mortar location for popular charcuterie shop

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It’s been a whirlwind six months for Jackie Connor, whose charcuterie concept Bellevue Boards exploded as soon as she hung out her virtual shingle this past summer. The Salve Regina MBA grad’s meticulously crafted business plan flew right out the window. “I barely got to any of it,” she says.

This month, Connor is opening her first brick-and-mortar location on Broadway, where she is selling her “jam-packed colorful boards full of deliciousness” along with some grab-and-go options. It’s not a fully stocked grocery but “will feature local goodies that I curate,” she explains, such as crackers from Beth Bakes.

Connor traces back her fixation with charcuterie to her childhood, when her mom would craft “silly suppers,” featuring a selection of cheese, meat, and something sweet (“usually M&Ms”). The obsession hit a fever-pitch during a job selling trips to France, which turned into studying French wine and cheese. When she returned to Salve for her MBA, the idea for Bellevue Boards began percolating. A COVID layoff led to her trying it over the summer. The rest, as they say, is history (or, a well-aged cheese).

“I have big goals,” Connor says of her physical location. With the pandemic waning (fingers crossed), she’s hoping to host charcuterie-making bachelorette parties as well as charcuterie workshops in her new space. But for now, she’s just excited to see her pandemic project bear such delicious fruit. “I’m opening a storefront where people can learn about one of my favorite things to do.” 

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