Arena Cheese, Inc. — Local services in Arena

I'm from out of town and was really looking forward to the cheese from this location, given its solid reputation. I was a cheese monger for two years and love the craft, priding myself on not being particularly picky or snobby. However, I went into the shop last weekend and bought some cheese for to return with me to Milwaukee and it did not go as planned. I bought a large brick of 10 year cheddar, aged brick, and "dont fear the reaper" to test out the quality. The ride home was 1 1/2 hours, surrounded by frozen meats from Peck's and cold on arrival. I opened the brick to cut some for friends later and it was intense. Ive smelled some rarer/pungent stuff and this one took it by a mile. I vomited. Okay, that may have been a fluke. I try the 10 year cheddar, I reach. The younger reaper cheese was great, so I feared there may have been a storage failure. I called the available number only to find a very confused person on the other end who said they would pass it along. These could actually...

This is a quaint little shop... a great place to stop if you are looking to grab a few souvenirs or some quick cheese/meat snacks to bring home from an out of state trip. Not that it isn't local friendly but if given the opportunity to stop by a nearby grocery store you'll get about the same selection without all the touristy knick-knacks and you'll save a few dollars in the process. I would go back... but if I needed to I would probably head up the road to one of the bugger options in Mezzanine or Spring Green. Great people, a decent selection and a beautiful little area... I was just hoping for a little more selection (the prices are just about equal to the bigger meat/cheese shops...

Arena Cheese is a hidden gem, that's not so hidden at all with the giant mouse and wedge of cheese out front. How couldn't it be amazing it is in fact the home of co-jack cheese?! It always sports a nice variety of cheese when you walk in or if you eat as much cheese as my family a selection of bulk cheese in the back always variable selection (Colby, co-jack, Gouda,swiss, cheddar and Colby/co-jack calamente, our favorite). They have a large viewing window from the floor onto the production floor and if you're lucky the owner may be there to talk you through the process or one of the many friendly staff members.

Oh! And don't forget your fresh squeaky...