A food-inspired passion project that is not a restaurant, bar, or grill opened in July on Kingston’s Abeel Street. Tutti is a food-themed gift and lifestyle shop, run by Mel Andrel and their partner Pete Andrel. “I was really inspired by my Italian-American heritage and growing up with my Nana,” says Andrel, “I wanted to create a place where people could gather, hang out, and grab gifts for their loved ones.”
Tutti carries products such as greeting cards, accessories, and writing materials from Mel Andrel’s eponymous stationery brand. The store also carries tableware, cookbooks, cutting boards from Fredericks and Mae, olive oil from Casa Virgin, and food-inspired candles from Nata that accent Andrel’s product line. The pasta and olive oil come from local importers who source their goods directly from Italy. “We made a point of everything in the shop being something we have personally tried and loved,” says Andrel.
The store is small, with two pink chairs and a table next to the door serving as outdoor seating. There are shelves displaying the colorful products, including bottles of olive oil, boxes of pasta, kitchenware, and nonalcoholic cocktails. A table at the center displays the cookbooks, towels, and Mel Andrel stationery such as washi tape, which is decorative masking tape used in paper crafts. A sign on the wall proclaims “Say Caio!”
Andrel launched their first stationery collection in 2022 in Portland, Maine, after years of working as a graphic designer. “I was inspired because my Nana had just passed and I was going through her old recipes,” says Andrel, “and they were written on some of the worst stationery I’ve ever seen.” They decided to provide better ways to share recipes and messages, starting with tomato shaped post-it notes. Their products are carried in over 500 stores, and the studio and fulfilment office is now located in Tutti.
Opening a store felt like a natural next step to Andrel after working on their own product line for four years. Moving with their partner to the Hudson Valley, to be closer to family and New York City, they were initially looking for a design studio and a place to fill orders. When they found the storefront, they decided to create Tutti. “Kingston has a really strong small business community where everyone wants to help each other, compared to where I’ve lived in the past,” they say. Andrel hopes to redirect the foot traffic of Broadway to Abeel Street and add to the neighbourhood, alongside businesses such as The Department of Things, Maison Apres, and Sobrinos Gelato.
Having sold their products at Kingston stores in the past, Andrel felt that the city would be a great place to establish a brick and mortar shop for the brand. They feel that in-person shopping, reduced since the pandemic, is making a comeback. “I think there’s a real importance to being able to feel the quality of a product and to connect with people in your community in person,” says Andrel.
In the future, Andrel hopes to expand the store and host community events, such as cookbook clubs, author signings, and potluck-style dinners. They hope to be a resource to the neighbourhood. “Food has always been a universal connector,” they say. “The idea that you can have the same feeling of connecting over a good meal just from a sticky note on your desk feels really special to me.”
