April 8, 2014

A Visit To The Caves Of Murray's Cheese Shop

Founded in 1940 by Murray Greenberg, Murray's Cheese Shop has long been a fixture of New York's Greenwich Village.  Initially a wholesaler of butter and eggs, Murray's has evolved into New York's (and the United States') best-loved cheese shop.  In the 1970s, Murray sold the shop to his clerk, Louis Tudda, an Italian immigrant from Calabria.  In those days, it was a humble butter and eggs shop that also sold blocks of cheese.  In 1991, a fellow by the name of Rob Kaufelt was standing in line one day at Murray's when he heard Thudda say that he was closing the shop.  Kaufelt made him an offer and he became the third owner of New York's oldest cheese shop.  Kaufelt got busy traveling the globe, in search of new cheeses that no one had ever heard about and brought them back to the US.  Today, Murray's offers an enormous selection of amazing cheeses and charcuterie.  In 2004, Murray's built their first set of caves for the purpose of aging cheese.  For centuries, caves - being cool in temperature and high and steady in humidity - have been the perfect aging location for cheese.  As the cheese business expanded, so did Murray's Cave Aged Program and in 2013, a new set of caves was built in nearby Long Island City.  I recently had the pleasure of visiting Rob Kaufelt in this state-of-the-art facility.  Enjoy the video!

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