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    Sur La Table Stokes the US Food Obsession

    By | Shine Food – Tue, Dec 6, 2011 1:44 PM EST

    By Margo D. Beller, CNBC.com

    Couples DiningCouples DiningAmerica's obsession with food and restaurant-style meals they can make at home are cooking up some fine holiday sales at Sur la Table, CEO Jack Schwefel told CNBC Tuesday.

    Unlike Williams-Sonoma, which he said is a great place to buy a cooking-related gift, his privately held company is "a hardware store for cooks, where people who really get excited about cooking come because of our breadth of assortment" and the employees who show them how to use the products.

    Television's Food Network, supermarkets including Whole Foods and the ubiquitous Martha Stewart "opened up everyone's eyes for what could be and what you can do at home. Many people go out to eat, have a great meal and say, 'I can do that at home now,' and we're here to help provide the tools to do that."

    He said the company, with 92 stores, did very well over the Black Friday weekend.

    "It's been an interesting season so far," he said. "It remains to be seen how strong this holiday season is" and whether sales "could trail off" for retailers as it gets closer to Christmas.



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