The Cook’s Shop: 15 years of serving Marietta with quality kitchen essentials

MARIETTA, Ohio (WTAP) - The Cook’s Shop in downtown Marietta has been in business for 15 years, and its story is rooted in retirement dreams and culinary passion.

Ken Kupsche worked as a baker for his first job and has been in retail since. His wife Dagmar has loved cooking all her life and proposed the business idea.

“[We] bought this building 18 years ago, renovated it, and when we got the ground floor finished, we were originally going to rent it out… we said, ‘let’s start a business, let’s do something together.’ So this has been a retirement project for the two of us,” Ken said.

The Cook’s Shop in downtown Marietta has been in business for 15 years, and its story is rooted in retirement dreams and culinary passion.

Wide selection from hundreds of vendors

Their project has turned into a one-stop shop for various kitchen and food essentials.

“We’re kind of a big store in a small town in the sense that we buy from probably 300 active vendors… 40% of our sales are actually U.S. made product,” Ken said.

Various international products from Japan, Germany, and other European countries also stock their shelves.

Local products for gift-giving

West Virginia and Ohio natives can also find products that would make a perfect gift according to Ken.

“We’ve got a wonderful group of tiles that are coasters. There are photographs that were taken around Marietta of historic sites, and they’re black and white, kind of like an old-fashioned look to them. But if somebody that’s from Marietta, that’s moved away, or just somebody that loves the town, we’ve got those. We have the same thing with kitchen towels, with drawings of different sites in Marietta,” Ken said.

The quality of the product, Ken says, is what sets The Cook’s Shop apart from a big box store.

“I worked for Woodcraft Supply for most of my life and having the right tool for a job was a pretty common thing. You need something that will work well, save you time and effort. We’re the exact same thing here,” said Ken. “So when you buy cutlery from us, it’s going to stay sharp, it’s going to last longer than anything else you find… You get something that works well, that makes your hobby or your life easier. And that’s what we’re trying to do,” Ken said.

Downtown Marietta experience

Ken says the personalized experience is what makes it worth coming down to Marietta.

“If you go down to Shafer Leather down the street from us, they will fit you. They will stretch your boots. They will get you what you want. If you go to Darla at Threads Boutique across the street from us, she carries a really extensive line of jeans for women. And you will find somebody there that fits, but she will help you. And she knows the product that she sells... So you’re not walking into a store where you’re on your own, where you’re wandering the aisles looking for something. You’ve got people that know their merchandise,” Ken said.

The Cook’s Shop has various sales and promotions with some running through Christmas.