Keith Dickey, former Fulbright scholar, archeologist and investment banker, opened a gourmet food store in Concord last week. Butter's Food and Wine on North Main Street offers European wines, New York meats and Vermont cheeses, among other things.

On Friday, a day after he opened, Dickey was busy answering questions.

"I want to ask about a nice white wine, very casual," a customer said.

"Like a summer drink?"asked Dickey. "I recommend a Cline Viognier. It's not too sharp. It's not too sweet. It's right in the middle. It's sort of peachy, apricot-y."

With the zeal of a new business owner, Dickey kept a notebook of customer requests and patrolled the store to make sure everything was right. When he saw the refrigerated cheese case open, he stopped talking to a reporter, walked over and closed it.

"Cheeses are like living creatures," he said. "You need to take care of them."

Dickey said he aims to offer items and service lacking at grocery stores. He has also given the location a facelift, replacing the shelves and counters of the Radio Shack, which closed in September, with hardwood floors, new windows and brick walls. He named the store after Samuel Butters, the owner of a Main Street tavern in the 18th century.

Dickey, 44, said the store gives him a chance reinvent himself and enjoy his new life in New Hampshire. Dickey grew up in Westchester County, a commuter train ride away from New York City, where his father worked.

"He was a lawyer, but his passion was to cook extraordinary meals," Dickey said. "He made his own mayonnaise, baguettes and croissants."

Dickey went to Dartmouth College to earn his bachelor's degree and Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania for a Ph.D. in archeology. He studied burial customs in Greece on a Fulbright grant, but when he returned to the United States, he became an investment banker for a Manhattan firm specializing in health care companies.

"Health care was all the talk in 1992 and I was interested in it," he said. "I think of myself as a strategic thinker."

He moved to Concord in 2004 with his wife and daughter, saying he wanted to be closer to the community and nature.

For 18 months, he kept his Manhattan banking job, working there on weekdays and coming to New Hampshire on weekends.

As he began thinking of what he wanted to do permanently in New Hampshire, he turned to a gourmet food store.

The store opened last week during Concord's Market Days, drawing food connoisseurs.

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