Specialty Cheese
Specialty Cheese
With more than 400 cheeses—sourced from the U.S. and across the globe—available in-store, we’ve got something for everyone.
Whether you’re up for trying new and unusual artisan cheeses or you like to stick with what you know, you’ll find it at Heinen’s. Most importantly, we have trained and educated cheese specialists in every store that can help you find what you’re looking for. We’ll even offer samples of cheeses, so you can try before you buy.
Bottom line: we love cheese, we love to talk cheese and we love to sell fine cheeses. Stop into the Cheese Department on your next visit to your neighborhood Heinen’s store!
Heinen’s Hand Selected
Our Hand Selected cheese is thoughtfully chosen by Heinen’s cheese experts in collaboration with our network of artisan cheesemakers around the globe. Only the highest quality, unique cheeses make the cut.
Featured in our collection is: Heinen’s Imported French Brie, Gorgonzola, Wisconsin Cheddar, Vintage 9 Year Cheddar, Imported 24 Month Parmigiano Reggiano, Fondue Blend, 90 Month Aged Extra Sharp Cheddar Spread, and a line of grass fed organic A2 cheeses.
Build Your Best Cheese and Charcuterie Board
We’ll help customers choose well-matched cheese and charcuterie items to make their own cheese boards, but we can also offer ready-made cheese board options that are waiting to pair with wine and beer of your choosing.
Ohio Cheese Producers
Canal Junction
The Schlatter family had been farming for five generations when a sixth generation son wanted to try his hand at cheese making. We’re talking cheese making from scratch, with his own 100 percent grass-fed cows. The results are exquisite; one bite of Canal Junction Charloe can bring a tear to your eye.
Kokoborrego
In 2004, the young Sippel family bought their Mount Gilead farm and started to grow produce, but they switched to making sheep’s milk cheese and were the first in Ohio to do so. Their name refers to the nearby Kokosing River and the Spanish word for sheep, “borrego.” Their cheese is award-winning and highly sought after.
Mackenzie Creamery
A fearless rookie at age 61, Jean Mackenzie started her Hiram creamery in 2007 after taking just two cheese making classes. It turns out she was great at it, and her goat cheese began winning awards immediately. In 2010, her son Rob joined her in running the eco-friendly creamery.
Mayfield Road Creamery
This Orwell dairy farm has been in the family since 1860 and owner Kevin Morris still milks his grass-grazing Holsteins in the same barn his ancestors used six generations ago. Today, their rich, creamy milk is turned into fine cheese by Kevin’s wife, Susan.
Turkeyfoot Creek Creamery
They’re raising goats on this small, five acre farm near Toledo that’s smack dab in the middle of cow country. Their world class goat cheese is made on equipment shipped through the Great Lakes all the way from Holland.
American Artisan Cheeses
Carr Valley Cheese
Certified Master Cheesemaker Sid Cook of Carr Valley has won more top awards than any other cheesemaker in North America. His cheeses appear at the James Beard House dinners, Wine Spectator events and in the finest restaurants in the U.S. All of his cheeses are from Wisconsin, where Carr Valley Cheese dates back more than a century.
Point Reyes Farmstead
Bob Giacomini and his wife ran a dairy farm near the ocean in Point Reyes, California, while raising their four daughters. They had a hunch their farm’s milk could make a blue cheese like no other. The girls left successful careers to help launch the dream, and today they’re famous for their incredible Point Reyes blue cheese.
Mackenzie Creamery
A fearless rookie at age 61, Jean Mackenzie started her Hiram creamery in 2007 after taking just two cheese making classes. It turns out she was great at it, and her goat cheese began winning awards immediately. In 2010, her son Rob joined her in running the eco-friendly creamery.
Vermont Creamery
More than 30 years ago, Vermont Creamery co-founder Bob Reese needed a locally made goat cheese for an event. He reached out to a young Allison Hooper who’d spent a summer in Brittany, France, learning cheese making and was milking goats at a nearby farm. She made the chèvre, and it became the start of their now-famous and award-winning creamery.
Tulip Tree Creamery
Founded in 2014 by Fons Smits and Laura Davenport, this small Indiana creamery is dedicated to producing handmade, artisanal cheeses made with milk sourced from local Indiana dairy farms that practice Certified Humane standards. Happy cows produce high-quality milk, which makes award-winning cheeses!
Imported Classics from Around the World
English Cheddar
Cheddar was born in England and is one of the world’s most popular cheeses. With each bite, Cheddar is full of complexity and sharpness.
Parmigiano-Reggiano
Real Parmigiano-Reggiano must meet strict regulations set by Italy, including the region of origin, type of milk and time window for production. It must be aged for a minimum of 24 months, but it is often aged longer. With age comes more beauty and prestige. We think it’s the king of the cheese world, and we carry the real deal.
Camembert, Brie and Raclette
Camembert, Brie and Raclette are classic cheese varieties from France. Camembert and Brie are velvety smooth, while Raclette has supple, toothsome qualities that become sublime, molten decadence when melted.
Aged Gouda
When you taste an authentic aged Gouda from the Netherlands, you’ll never forget it. We carry varieties from the Beemster Polder—Holland’s term for reclaimed land from the sea. The Beemster Classic is aged 18 months and tastes salty, sweet and sharp all at once. The Beemster XO (aged 26 months) is an addicting, almost-butterscotch cheese with an amazing sweetness.