New cheese market goes beyond the ordinary

People looking for a bit of cheese with their wine will find a selection of domestic and imported fromage at a new market that’s steps away from Vino! A Wine Shop.

Saunders Cheese Market opened six weeks ago at 210 S. Washington with a variety of fresh cheeses from as far away as France and Italy. The shop specializes in unusual items that aren’t carried through typical grocers.

“When we’re fully stocked, we’re probably up to at least 115 (varieties),” said Kim Morin, who owns the store with her husband, Bill Morin, and her sister-in-law, Annette Morin-Cranshaw. Customers get to sample before they buy, Kim Morin said, adding, “A true cheese store is a bit of an experience.”

Choices include Stilton, a type of fresh blue cheese that’s only made on five farms in England, and American cheeses made by Sally Jackson, Mt. Townsend Creamery and others.

Prices run from $13.50 a pound for French brie, up to $36.99 for a French goat cheese crusted in herbs and red chilies. Italian cheeses, including dolce Gorgonzola and taglio, are priced in between.

So far, Valdeon, a mixed-milk blue cheese from Spain, is among the most popular and runs just under $20 a pound.

Although the store lacks much exterior signage, Morin said cheese connoisseurs are starting to find the new shop.

“I just started carrying some fresh Greek feta. It disappeared in a day,” said Morin, a former math teacher at University High School.

Saunders Cheese Market is named after a former grocery store that was located there, but has been closed for decades, she said, adding that her in-laws, Yvonne and Bill Morin Sr., purchased the building from the owner of the original Saunders in 1972.