Specialty market brings culture to Leander

Cherry Viernes has seemingly elevated her small-business owner status to become a cultural ambassador for the northern Leander and Liberty Hill area.

Her first store, Cherry's Asian Store & Gift Shop, opened in February 2012 on US 183 just south of Hwy. 29. Viernes picked the location because of its growth potential, particularly among residents of Asian heritage.

And while many of her customers bring a vast cultural knowledge each time they visit her 2,000-square-foot shop, Viernes has also exposed many newcomers to the benefits of Asian cuisine. The challenge is one she fully embraces, she said.

"I have to get people to like my product because it's new to them," Viernes said. "But after they learn about the store, they always come back."

An Austin-area resident since 2001, Viernes said she was inspired to open the shop by her mother, who ran a grocery store in the Philippines. The selection at Cherry's Asian Store includes locally grown fruits and vegetables, bean sprouts, various types of noodles and Asian sauces, seasonal seaweed and Thai chili peppers and more.

Finding authentic Asian goods is otherwise difficult, she said, estimating the nearest specialty store is 40 miles away. Inventory can also be hard for Viernes to come by, forcing her at times to travel throughout the nation to obtain premium items.

"I still don't have a lot of things I wish to carry," she said.

But as her customer base has grown, she has expanded her inventory and found more locally based suppliers.

"If you visited me in February [2012], I had nothing," Viernes said. "I built up my inventory by asking people what they wanted."

That strategy has helped Cherry's Asian Store attract repeat business, Viernes said, and she is optimistic about growing her selection throughout this year. Expanding the selection, she said, should in turn attract more customers.

"I think I'm almost to the point where people know about us through word of mouth," Viernes said.

She also gets to know her regular customers, ensuring she keeps their favorite items in stock and, when necessary, even collecting their items beforehand for faster pickup.

"It's a matter of knowing your customer on a personal basis," she said. "So it's knowing if they like gluten-free or vegetarian and knowing what new things they might like."

For many regulars, they come in strictly for Viernes' vast collection of noodles.

"I pretty much have something for everybody," she said. "Except for people who don't like Asian food."

Asian food tutorial

Many new customers at Cherry's Asian Store & Gift Shop are new to Asian culture and its wide-ranging cuisine options. In an attempt to help educate those customers, owner Cherry Viernes hosts a free cooking demonstration each month.

Attendance has grown each month, she said, with more than 250 people invited each time. The demonstrations are followed by free tastings of the dish made that month.

Viernes is seeking new recipes to spread to her customer base. The only catch: the dish must be made using ingredients from Cherry's Asian Store & Gift Shop.

"That's exciting because my customers will be showing other customers how to use the food they find here," she said.

Free cooking demonstrations

• First Saturday of each month
• Noon–3 p.m.
• Past dishes prepared

• Fried and spring egg rolls (Fried lumpia)
• Sauteed rice stick noodles (Pancit bihon)
• Sauteed Wheat Noodles (Pancit canton)
• Chopsuey
• Sticky Sweet Rice Balls in Coconut Milk (Ginataang bilo-bilo)
• Sweet rice porridge (Arroz caldo/lugaw/congee)

719 US 183, Ste. B118, Leander , 512-986-7578, www.cherrysstore.com