A small restaurant in the city of Perugia, Italy, sticks in Emily Houser's mind when she recalls her 2014 study abroad trip. The restaurant opened about 8 p.m. and served a three-course meal before promptly closing just a few hours later, she said.  "Food is its own time, where here, I think we just try to fit food in where we can. It's not necessarily an enjoyment or an activity," she said. 

That community experience around food Houser shared during a hourslong meal in a small Italian city is what she hopes to bring to Carmel when she opens a charcuterie storefront in Carmel City Center in mid-November. Houser has worked in the food service industry since she was about 15 years old, she said. In July, after working for a charcuterie company in Fishers, Houser took the leap and started 317 Charcuterie.