New York City
The American specialty cheese capital. Murray's built the modern industry on Bleecker Street; Saxelby pioneered American-only curation; Bedford brings Brooklyn craft sensibility. Every European import worth carrying gets here first.
Positioning
NYC is the launching pad for serious American cheese culture. Murray's Cheese (founded 1940, current Bleecker Street location since 2004) trained more cheesemongers per square foot than any other shop in the country — it functions as an informal industry school. Saxelby Cheesemongers (founded 2006) led the American-only curation movement that gave craft producers like Jasper Hill, Vermont Creamery, and Cypress Grove their initial NYC distribution. Bedford Cheese Shop in Brooklyn extended the conversation to a younger, more design-conscious audience.
Cheese culture history
NYC's modern cheese culture begins with Rob Kaufelt buying Murray's in 1991 and transforming what had been a small Bleecker Street Italian grocery into the most influential American cheese shop. The 2000s brought Saxelby (2006) and Bedford (2003) plus a wave of younger mongers who trained at Murray's and opened their own shops. NYC has been the import hub for European cheese since the late 19th century (the original Italian-immigrant neighborhoods of Little Italy and the Lower East Side carried Pecorino and Provolone from Italian importers), but the specialty/craft revolution dates to the early 2000s.
Key neighborhoods
- Greenwich Village + West Village (Murray's on Bleecker, plus the cheese-focused restaurants of the area)
- Brooklyn — Williamsburg + Park Slope (Bedford Cheese Shop original Williamsburg location; Stinky Bklyn alumni)
- Lower Manhattan + Essex Market (Saxelby Cheesemongers moved here in 2019)
- Upper West Side (Citarella, Zabar's — broader gourmet retail with strong cheese)
- Chelsea Market (Lucy's Whey, Eataly Downtown)
Specialty shops
- Murray's Cheese — Bleecker Street flagship + Grand Central + Murray Hill; arguably the most-stocked cheese counter in America (~250+ varieties at any time)
- Saxelby Cheesemongers — Essex Market location, American-only focus, Anne Saxelby legacy continues under successors
- Bedford Cheese Shop — Williamsburg + Irving Place; design-forward retail with strong selection
- Lucy's Whey — Chelsea Market + Hamptons; curated American-and-European selection
- Stinky Bklyn — Cobble Hill, the Brooklyn alternative to Murray's
- Eataly Downtown + Flatiron — Italian-focused; the Parmigiano-Reggiano flight is a tourist anchor that's actually worthwhile
- Di Palo's — Little Italy; Italian-American institution, Italian cheeses + cured meats
Restaurants & markets
- Casellula — Hell's Kitchen; cheese-bar restaurant with extensive monger-curated boards
- Murray's Cheese Bar — adjacent to flagship; serves the deeper inventory
- Bar Boulud — Lincoln Center area; serious charcuterie + cheese course
- Eataly cheese counters — Flatiron + Downtown; sampling-friendly retail-as-restaurant
- Union Square Greenmarket (Mon/Wed/Fri/Sat) — Hudson Valley + Vermont producers selling direct
Travel access
Best seasons
Year-round, but late fall (September-November) brings the alpine cheese arrivals — Vacherin Mont d'Or, fresh-vintage Comté, holiday-season special imports. Spring (April-June) brings the goat-cheese transition as Loire production ramps up.
Avoid these pitfalls
- Murray's gets crowded on Saturday afternoons — visit weekday mornings for serious cheesemonger conversation
- Eataly cheese counter is touristy and overpriced for everyday purchase, but valuable for one-time tasting flights
- Whole Foods cheese counters in NYC are surprisingly strong — staff often Murray's-trained — but don't expect cheesemonger-level service