Trader Brings Taste of Europe to Whidbey Island

LANGLEY — A first-time business owner’s dream of opening a cheese factory came true this year.

Along the way, she introduces Langley to products from around the world.

Clinton resident Jennifer Sadinsky is one of the newest Village by the Sea shopkeepers. His specialty food and home goods store, Grayhorse Mercantile, opened in May.

Just a month ago, Sadinsky started stocking checkouts with a range of unique cheeses.

“I’ve always loved cheese,” she says. “If it were up to me, I’d probably only have the stinky cheeses because that’s what I really like, but I try to have a range of hard cheeses, soft cheeses, washed rind, softer and all the different dairies: cow, goat and sheep and even some buffalo.

But by far, vegan cheese has been the most popular among locals.

Sadinsky moved permanently to Whidbey Island during the COVID-19 pandemic. Formerly the marketing director of an architecture firm in Seattle, the pandemic caused her to rethink what she was doing with her life. The cheese factory’s dream has reached the top, and the rest is history.

Grayhorse Mercantile is the only such cheese shop in South Whidbey – the closest is to the north at Greenbank Farm.

But cheese isn’t the only thing on the menu at the new gift shop. You can also find interesting drinks, varieties of shellfish and gin-based condiments, for example. Many Grayhorse Mercantile food products are sourced from other countries, which means they cannot be found anywhere else nearby.

At the same time, Sadinsky’s store also offers beautiful products useful for everyday life, including spatulas, pottery, candles and pillows. Scattered throughout are unique vintage items, such as Depression-era glassware.

Sadinsky does extensive research on what she wants to sell in the store. Some of the products she found while traveling abroad in Europe, others she discovered through other sources.

She also hopes more Whidbey artisans will be represented in her store.

Grayhorse Mercantile is named after the horse races Sadinsky watched with her great-uncle when she was younger. She always bet on the gray horse.

“They just seem beautiful and special and something about them has always drawn me to them,” she said. “I can’t really explain it.”

She’s never had a horse herself, although there are a few pictures of equines hanging in the store, courtesy of her great-uncle.

In the fall, Sadinsky plans to put on sale cheese platters and boxes of snacks that people can take to a picnic or party. It also plans to organize courses, meetings with manufacturers and cheese tastings.

Above all, it hopes to be a resource for the inhabitants.

“Here, I really like to support women-owned businesses, small manufacturers and sustainable products,” she said. “I’m really happy to be able to do the things that I’ve always been passionate about that couldn’t always be done where I worked before.”

Grayhorse Mercantile is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Monday and is located at 117 Anthes Ave. in Langley. For more information, visit grayhorsemercantile.com.

This story originally appeared in the Whidbey News-Timesa sister publication to The Herald.

Gallery

Grayhorse Mercantile offers unique vintage items, such as this Depression Era glassware. (David Welton)