When she heard Mia Cucina was closing, Marcy Kelch knew she needed to pay the store a visit.

When she eventually made it to the Chattanooga cookware store in January, hoping to buy some items on sale, all but a few spoons remained on the walls.

After a brief conversation with then-owner Heidi Swartz, Mrs. Kelch bought the only thing that remained of Mia Cucina — the business itself.

“It just really fell into my lap,” the Chattanooga woman said. “I really always wanted to do something like this and didn’t really want to do a start-up, and this was just the perfect opportunity.”

Staff Photo by Margaret Fenton
Marcy Kelch reopened Mia Cucina, which sells high-end cooking equipment and offers a variety of cooking classes at an in-house kitchen.

Mrs. Swartz closed the store on Gunbarrel Road at Hamilton Corners in January citing personal problems. Mrs. Swartz originally opened the business on North Market Street in 2003 and eventually moved to Gunbarrel in October 2005.

Mrs. Kelch, 34, was a frequent customer and even volunteered in the cooking school at the North Market Street location.

That day in January when she walked into the store — her husband and 2-year-old twins waiting in the car — she had no idea she would buy the business. Mrs. Kelch declined to reveal how much she paid but said that since she reopened the store in May, business has been “on an upward trend.”

After the sale closed in mid-January, Mrs. Kelch was left with a store that had no inventory and a building that had everything, down to the coat racks, ripped off the walls. It also took several months to get the store restocked and to bring staff back.

Susie Hinkle was one of two employees that returned to work in the store. Mrs. Hinkle had been an employee since the opening of the store in Hamilton Corners.

“I was so happy,” she said after learning Mrs. Kelch planned to reopen the store.

Once the store opened, customers were calling and coming in to express their gratitude to the new owner.

“I can’t think of another store in Chattanooga that would generate that kind of response,” Mrs. Hinkle said.

The store’s unique offerings, from high-end cookware made by Le Creuset and Viking to smaller, specialty items like silicone egg poachers, have helped it maintain a loyal following over the years, she said.

Mrs. Kelch has put her own touch on the store, adding periodic cooking classes featuring chefs from local restaurants. She also has tried to keep stock of locally made goods, such as pancake mix from Aretha Frankensteins and spice blends from Alchemy Spice.

The store now carries various types of flavored and smoked salts for sale in bulk, and Mrs. Kelch also has expanded the offerings of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

She said since she decided to buy the store, there have been challenges, but overall the experience has been good and something close to her heart.

“Cooking is a passion of mine,” Mrs. Kelch said. “Some people go to the gym when they get off work. I like to cook. It relaxes me instantly.”

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