{"id":3714,"date":"2024-03-21T03:06:03","date_gmt":"2024-03-21T03:06:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/cheese-shops-we-love-the-milk-merchant\/"},"modified":"2024-03-21T03:06:03","modified_gmt":"2024-03-21T03:06:03","slug":"cheese-shops-we-love-the-milk-merchant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/cheese-shops-we-love-the-milk-merchant\/","title":{"rendered":"Cheese Shops We Love: The Milk Merchant"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Location <\/h2>\n

402 S. 2nd Ave., Wausau, WI 54401<\/p>\n

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Milk Merchant store interior<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mary Gallagher wanted to live in a big city. So as soon as she could, after graduating from college, she left her hometown of Wausau, Wisconsin\u2014only to bounce right back. \u201cI had a bead and jewelry store in Chicago for 10 years. My husband moved back (to Wausau) for business and I moved back hesitantly but now I love it,\u201d she says, adding \u201cI was looking to do something in retail.\u201d That opportunity came in 2019 when she bought an existing cheese shop in Wausau\u2014Na\u00efve Fromagerie\u2014and rebranded it entirely, with a new name: The Milk Merchant<\/a>. Only she did something very unexpected: she hired the owner of that cheese shop to work for her.<\/p>\n

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A Partnership that Works<\/h2>\n
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Milk Merchant tasting bar. Photo Credit Kristine Hansen<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very different than it was before. New name, new look,\u201d says Gallagher. Maggie Christians owned Navieve Fromagerie with her husband, Matthew Christians, from 2016 to 2019. Known as Chef Maggie, she now cooks for events hosted by The Milk Merchant, such as a five-course French or Italian night, or \u201cperfect pairings\u201d classes where five cheese-focused small bites are paired with wine. Having a full kitchen on-site allows for this. \u201cI consider her a partner,\u201d says Gallagher about Christians.<\/p>\n

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Marieke Gouda Honey Clover. Photo Credit Marieke Gouda<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Everyone who works here loves cheese. \u201cI\u2019ve got a fun staff of women and we do outings,\u201d says Gallagher, who reopened the shop during the summer of 2019. \u201cWe\u2019ve gone to Uplands Cheese<\/a>, Marieke Gouda<\/a> and St. Isadore\u2019s Dairy<\/a>. There\u2019s so much to learn when it comes to cheese and so many people doing cool things in Wisconsin. As much as we can, we try to get out of the shop and meet the faces behind the cheeses we sell. It\u2019s fun if you can tell the customer the story.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Focusing on Wisconsin Cheese and More<\/h2>\n

As the shop is in Wisconsin, creating a line-up of local award-winning cheeses was not only easy but a no-brainer. Cheeses like Door County Creamery\u2019s Fresh Herb Chevre<\/a>, Hook\u2019s <\/a>Five-Year Cheddar and Sartori\u2019s Merlot BellaVitano are among those sold. Read more<\/em> about BellaVitano.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

That said, Gallagher also sells cheeses from Rogue Creamery<\/a> in Oregon as well as Cypress Grove\u2019s<\/a> Humboldt Fog (Arcata, California), Beemster\u2019s Gouda (the Netherlands), Manchego from Spain and Irish Whiskey Cheddar from Ireland. Read<\/em> more about <\/em>Gouda<\/em>, including producers Beemster and Marieke<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m always trying to find that specialty cheese you won\u2019t get in the grocery stores,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always loved cheese, growing up in Wisconsin. I also studied abroad in Italy and fell in love with cheese not from Wisconsin, but Wisconsin still holds a special piece of my heart,\u201d says Gallagher. \u201cI took a cool course at the University of Wisconsin in Madison for developing my education, at the Center for Dairy Research<\/a>, and I also took a weekend-long intensive boot camp in New York City before opening, at Murray\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Store<\/h2>\n
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Milk Merchant interior. Photo Credit Kristine Hansen<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As a new owner of the shop, Gallagher had the benefit of existing clientele but also free rein to carry whatever she wanted. \u201cI added a lot of new items: some home goods, a lot more wine, beer and spirits,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to make it more of a store where you could come in and get a fabulous birthday gift or a hostess gift, or for entertaining,\u201d says Gallagher. \u201cI appreciate anything that\u2019s local, handmade or produced on a smaller scale, whether a wooden charcuterie board or local jam. We have a local chocolatier that makes fabulous toffee.\u201d What makes the cut when she\u2019s sourcing? \u201cDefinitely stuff that pairs well with entertaining, whether that be cheese or wine, but also things you can\u2019t find in the local grocery stores or any other boutiques in town,\u201d says Gallagher.<\/p>\n

Gallagher strives to support other food and beverage purveyors near her by retailing their wares, whether it\u2019s Wisco Pop!<\/a> sweetened sparkling waters or The Quince & Apple Company<\/a>\u2019s jams and preserves folding in local ingredients. You could nearly stock a kitchen with all she carries, including hand towels, fondue pots, coffee mugs, ramekins, cheese knives, wine glasses, charcuterie boards and wine glasses.<\/p>\n

Charcuterie boards with meals, cheeses, nuts and spreads are available for catering, too. Beverages that shoppers can pick up\u2014perhaps to pair with their cheese finds\u2014range from a six- pack of craft beer to a bottle of wine or canned cocktails.<\/p>\n

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Top Selling Cheeses<\/h2>\n
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Pleasant Ridge Reserve, cut piece Photo Credit Uplands Cheese<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Pleasant Ridge Reserve<\/a><\/h3>\n

One of only two cheeses made by Uplands Cheese Company<\/a> in Dodgeville, Wisconsin, this is among The Milk Merchant\u2019s top-sellers and a store favorite. It\u2019s released every summer and has won Best of Show three times at the American Cheese Society\u2019s Annual Competition. \u201cWe love adding this raw-milk, alpine-style cheese to our cheese boards,\u201d says Gallagher. \u201cAnd when Upland\u2019s seasonal Rush Creek Reserve comes out in the fall, we have a waiting list.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Marieke Gouda Honey Clover<\/a> and Marieke Gouda Fonenegreek<\/a><\/h3>\n
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Marieke Gouda Foenegreek Photo Credit Marieke Gouda<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Established by Netherlands native Marieke Penterman, the Thorp, Wisconsin, creamery<\/a> only makes gouda. But the possibilities are many. \u201cShe has so many fun flavors. The Honey Clover and Foenegreek are our top two,\u201d says Gallagher. \u201cLove the grassy notes of the Honey Clover and maple notes of the Foenegreek. Her raw-milk cheeses are made less than an hour away from our shop, so we love that as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Meredith Dairy Marinated Goat Cheese<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Meredith Dairy Marinated Sheep & Goat Cheese<\/a><\/h2>\n

For this favorite cheese of hers that comes from Meredith Dairy<\/a> in Australia, Gallagher is nearly apologetic for looking beyond the Dairy State. \u201cWe love Wisconsin-cheese makers, especially the farmstead producers, but we also sell some amazing imports,\u201d she says. \u201cThis fresh, Australian cheese is delicious on anything. It is nicknamed the \u2018crack cheese\u2019 by our customers.\u201d Read more <\/em>about Meredith Dairy.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Location 402 S. 2nd Ave., Wausau, WI 54401 Milk Merchant store interior Mary Gallagher wanted to live in a big city. So as soon as she could, after graduating from college, she left her hometown of Wausau, Wisconsin\u2014only to bounce right back. \u201cI had a bead and jewelry store in Chicago for 10 years. My … Okumaya devam et “Cheese Shops We Love: The Milk Merchant”<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1271,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[395],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-milk-and-diary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1271"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3714"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3714\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}