This little shop in Monroe County packs in a lot of cheese—and a lot of other things too.
Everybody loves cheese. Think about it; it’s true. You love cheese, don’t you? And therefore, everybody is practically guaranteed to love Cheese ’N More in Monroe County. Call it the “transitive property of cheese.”
Cheese ’N More is a sweet little shop on Route 3 in Gap Mills, outside of Union. From the outside it looks like something out of a picture book—red roof, stone exterior, wood rocking chairs on the porch. It’s been in business for 32 years, although the building is much older. “It’s an old store,” says Ethan Fisher, who has owned the store for the last 11 years. “We’ve got the original creaking wood floors, and the countertops are from back in the 1940s. It’s just kind of out in the middle of nowhere, and people just really like the feel of it.”
Cheese ’N More boasts more than 40 varieties of cheese, nearly all of which are sliced on the spot and sold by the pound. Most are sourced from Amish cheese makers in Pennsylvania and Ohio. There are also around 20 varieties of lunch meat and sausage, dried fruit, nuts, coffee, baking items, cookbooks, knives, and homemade baskets. They even sell high-end outdoor furniture and playsets for children. “We try to keep all high-quality products in here,” Ethan says. “I wouldn’t say that we carry any low-quality products because people can get those anywhere else so we don’t need to.” You can also have a sandwich made up on the spot and enjoy it with homemade potato or macaroni salad.
In all, it’s a quaint kind of shopping experience that stands in stark contrast to the fluorescent lighting and long aisles at a big box grocery store. And just the fact that it’s lasted for 32 years is proof positive that it’s good. After all, it’s so out of the way that it couldn’t possibly have stuck around that long if it weren’t worth the trip.
25521 Sweet Springs Valley, Gap Mills, 304.772.5211
written by Shay Maunz | photographed by Nikki Bowman
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