Morehead’s only charcuterie restaurant has locals on board for this dining trend. See why.

When patrons experience the food, drinks and atmosphere of The Board Room in Morehead, they are not only experiencing that region’s only charcuterie restaurant. They are also experiencing the post-retirement passion project of co-owners Shellie Hancock and Leigh Ann Lambert.

“It is a lot more than we thought it would be,” Lambert said. “We retired for 30 minutes and jumped into something twice as busy.”

Hancock and Lambert’s relationship started as mostly business. Lambert owned Expressions Salon at The Board Room’s current location at 111 W. Main St. and Hancock was a long-time client who worked at nearby Morehead State University. As they both entered their 50s, Hancock set her sights on retiring from MSU while Lambert contemplated selling her salon after 27 years as a hairstylist.

The idea for The Board Room began thanks to free time and potential boredom during the COVID-19 pandemic. As Hancock worked remotely, she decided to try her hand at creating charcuterie boards for her friends. The trend had exploded in popularity with artistically arrayed spreads of finger foods: sliced meats, veggies, cheese, olives, fruits and nuts and more.

Hancock made her first one for a party on July 4, 2020. She would later create boards and sell them on social media under the moniker Shellie’s Plates and found her selections and attention to detail were a hit with customers.

“(I) put a couple of them on Facebook and asked if anyone would be interested in ordering them and it was pretty overwhelming the response,” Hancock said.

Hancock’s brother, who owns Boonedogs Bar and Restaurant in Lexington, had mentioned in conversations that while many restaurants offered charcuterie boards, they were always a single dish on the menu and not the restaurant’s specialty. Both Hancock and Lambert had talked about wanting Morehead to have “a unique place for charcuterie and a glass of wine, a place for people to unwind on the weekends,” Hancock said. As Shellie’s Plates progressed, Lambert started allowing her to sell boards and specialized grab-n-go boxes out of her shop.

“I had a boutique next to the salon, just to put lunches,” Lambert said. “I don’t think we really thought we would come to go through with it. We just talked about it. It just kind of happened.”

Lambert decided to close Expressions Salon and the two of them transformed the space into The Board Room. They opened it on the Fourth of July weekend this past summer, almost exactly two years after Hancock prepared her first board.

“When we had people lined out the door to come in, we knew we were onto something,” Hancock said. “That made us feel good, of course, and then we realized, oh, we’re going to have to hire people.”

What goes on a charcuterie board?

The Board Room’s boards feature specialty cheeses that Hancock gets through distributors and special trips to handpick products from Lexington grocery stores. These cheeses, which can include port wine cheese, blueberry vanilla goat cheese or cranberry white cheddar, are typically accompanied by some combination of pepperoni and salami, crackers, fresh fruit and fresh veggies. It may also feature some locally-owned pimento cheese or beer cheese and something for your sweet cravings.

“I always put some kind of chocolate on the board,” Hancock said.

Guests can share an entire board with a large table, smaller boards for 2-4 guests and those still-popular grab-n-go lunch boxes featuring a sandwich (chicken salad, pimento cheese, turkey or ham) with mixed nuts, cheese, fruit and chocolate for $9. You can even purchase a chocolate fondue board with marshmallows, graham crackers and Rice Krispie treats or a single-serving charcuterie wine glass stuffed to the top with meats, cheeses and fresh fruit.

While Hancock is paying painstaking detail to the boards for in-store patrons and catering orders, Lambert assists on the beverage side, which includes several types of wine and two specialty mixed drinks: Blackberry Lemonade Moonshine and Frose (frozen rose wine), which is a different flavor every weekend. The atmosphere mixes eclectic and comfortable decor, where every seating arrangement has a different feel thanks to touches like bourbon barrel tables, couches and swing chairs.

“I think people like the atmosphere as much as the food,” Hancock said.

“It’s two rooms but it’s still kind of private at the same time,” Lamber said. “We have a lot of people come in and they just stay for hours and hours and hours.”

Sharing food, connections

The Board Room co-owners said they have stayed busy around the holidays thanks to catering events, pick-up orders, and in-store business. It is certainly appreciated by the city of Morehead. The restaurant was just awarded the Morehead-Rowan County Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year Award.

As they head into the new year, both Hancock and Lambert said there are a lot of unknowns, including how their specialty will go over in the winter months. That being said, things seem promising as more and more people in Morehead are coming to The Board Room where charcuterie and community are the main attraction.

“To me, what I see is more like the people connecting and reconnecting,” Lambert said. “Everybody wants to know what everything is on the board. I think it’s the experience of it, honestly, more than the food and the atmosphere.”

“It’s special. We tried something different, and it’s working,” Hancock said. “Hopefully, it will keep working.”

The Board Room Charcuterie and Wine

Where: 111 W. Main St., Morehead

Hours: 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday and Saturday

Contact: 606-462-8000 or tbronmain@gmail.com