WAUPACA COUNTY POST

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Variety is the Spice of Denise Maiman’s Life

By Sharon Van Ryzin, Post Staff Writer

She’s got hot sauce, hot-hot sauce and liquid fire; green olives, ripe olives, bleu cheese-stuffed olives and little Italian dishes in which to serve them; coffees, teas and cocoa and the cups for drinking them salsas, soups and party dips and the crackers to complement them; pizza, soup and muffin mixes and the little kitchen gadgets for mixing them; spicy Bloody Mary mixes and the glasses for serving them; seasonings, cookbooks and decorations for the table.

Denise Maiman spends her days in an atmosphere of colors, flavors and aromas at her modern-day general store, Cate’s Gourmet.

In 1998 she was offered a deal she couldn’t refuse when her father, David Cate, and his wife, Cindy, asked her to take over management of the shop. It’s a family affair on County Trunk QQ in King. Dad, Cindy and sister Tracy run Cate & Company; Denise has the gourmet shop next door, and next to her is sister Lisa’s shop, Katie McCann’s.

"At first I was worried if I would be equal to the job," Maiman said. "I didn’t think I could do all the creative things. Lisa is the creative one."

Then the juices started to flow. First came a fascination with the different foods. That turned into a passion for cooking. Mixed with an appetite for meeting interesting people, it was a recipe for success.

"I have to do something that makes me happy," Maiman said, "and I never thought something like this would bring me so much happiness.. I know I’m blessed to have a business that I can be passionate about."

She shares that culinary passion with her new husband of a few months, Jeff Maiman, who makes some mean pizzas at his Wheelhouse restaurants on the Chain and in New London.

Denise says she isn’t a "real-pizza person," but Jeff makes a special one for her at home.

"He takes a real flat crust, because I don’t like a lot of bread, and puts on capers, anchovies, dollops of ricotta, mushrooms, onions, marinara sauce and olive oil," she said. "Oh my … it is so good.

"I really have to watch what I eat. I guess I have a sensitive system. So I’ve learned a lot about food from working here. I love vegetables and pasta salads, and I love experimenting with herbs and spices and different tastes."

Waupaca native David Cate started out with Cate & Company in 1984 along with his wife, Cindy, and daughter Lisa. A few years later, they opened a similar store in Fish Creek, and Denise went there to manage it. That experience was a bit daunting for her.

"When I moved up to Door County, I was very lonely," she said. "I didn’t know anybody, so I’d go to the nursing home in Sister Bay and play cribbage with the people and read to them.

"One guy was cheating me at cribbage. I knew that, but I let him. I needed something, and you feel better when you give. You get back so much more.

"I always thought I might go into the health-care field – not a hands-on nurse, but maybe a medical records technician or an occupational therapists assistant."

Moving back home and managing the store here was a whole different challenge.

"At first I was very intimidated," Maiman said. "You think, ‘What if it doesn’t work?’"

She has since learned not to let money intimidate her.

"It’s just a number," she said. "For so many years, I was on my own, going from paycheck to paycheck. It was hard. Then a switch went on. I feel that he universe provides if you let it. I couldn’t let he fear get me.

"All the things I was fearful about have been thrown at me, and having a business was one of them. I really believe that the things you want to run away from are the things you need to learn the most.

"This business, I think has made me a better, stronger person."

Trying new things is what her shop is all about, and her customers have that opportunity right off the bat when they first walk in. Realizing that some people might be reticent to try what they think of as exotic concoctions, Maiman always has a sampling table prepared with party dips, crackers and pretzels.

"If you don’t try them, you’ll never know," she said.

Maiman’s interest in food was handed down through generations in the Cate family. Her grandparents were produce farmers in Waupaca.

"They harvested all their own vegetables, so we grew up really healthy," she said.

Even her shop is a continuation of a family legacy. In earlier days, there was a Cate General Store on a quiet corner in Auroraville. Now she has a contemporary version of that in what was once a little cottage.

"A woman came in here one day and told me she used to live here," Maiman recalled. "She said she remembers sitting at her kitchen table and looking out the window right here where my counter is now.

"There is a good aura here," she said about her location in King. "It’s small and quaint."

Running a gourmet food shop has certain challenges. Maiman says she’d like to bring in new varieties, but with many vendors, the minimum orders required are too large for her to deal with in her little store. The shelf life for many of those products is short, and timing is important.

"Anticipating the seasons was hard to get used to," she said. "I don’t really like putting out Christmas things already. The first year I waited until after Thanksgiving, and it was too late. People weren’t buying."

The buying portion of her job was something of an adjustment for the small-town girl.

"I’m not big on going to market," she said. "I went once and it was too overwhelming. It was just visual overload to me. I do well with six or seven vendors, and they’ve become good friends. They’d rather come to my store, and I get more of their time.

"They come in January, when things are slow, and we sit down over coffee and talk."

Then there’s the business side of business. Maiman was pleasantly surprised at how that has worked out. She doesn’t even have a computer. All the numbers are in her head.

"I never ever thought I’d have my own business," she said. "Not that I’m lazy, but I thought it would be a lot of work. Actually, it’s not that stressful."

What didn’t come naturally, Maiman learned from her father and Cindy.

"He is a good businessman," she said, "and he’s good with people. You can tell I’m pretty fond of him. He’s a great guy."

Although she considers herself a private person, Maiman does enjoy meeting and talking to the different and interesting people she meets on a daily basis.

"One summer when I was 21, I worked seven days a week at two jobs," she said. "I was tired. Then I went on a tour in Europe and saw 14 countries in six weeks. It was just me and another woman who was about 28. All the rest were older people.

"Traveling and meeting new people is an education in itself. Our family has had the opportunity to meet so many people. They come in and share with us. It’s a personal thing. That’s important in a small business."

After talking to people all day long, when she goes home she likes solitude, sitting by the fireplace, reading a book. The piano on which she took early lessons was a gift from her mother, and now one of her most satisfying pastimes is relearning to play.

Comfort is important at work and at hoe, and Maiman wants the same for her customers.

"I hope people feel welcome here," she said. "My main point is to have a little bit for everybody. Kids can come in and maybe buy a quarter-pound of coffee or some chocolate truffles for their mom’s birthday."

Right now she is comfortable and doing what she likes to do, but she knows change is good.

"The future might have something else in store," she said.