By Denise Purcell

A move of about 25 feet was at once a step into the future and the past for Manhattan emporium Murray's Cheese.

A November 2004 relocation directly across the street from its Greenwich Village home has helped return the area to its historic retail past. By subdividing the 6,000 square feet of new retail space into outposts of specialty bakery Amy’s Bread and seafood store Wild Edibles, Murray’s is forging a resurgence of specialty food purveyors to the strip of Bleecker Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues, long-time address of fixtures such as O. Ottomanelli’s & Sons Meat Market, Rocco’s Pastry Shop, Faicco’s Pork Store and the recently closed A. Zito & Sons Bakery.

Inside, Murray’s jump in square footage to 2,700 over its notoriously tiny former digs allowed for the construction of authentic underground cheese caves—state-of-the-art accommodations in 21st-century cheese retailing based on age-old European traditions. It also helped the merchant offer customers a contemporary selection, including made-on-the premises prepared foods, an array of specialty grocery and a classroom for educational sessions—while still modeling the store on the finest cheeseries of Europe.

A Farmstead Emphasis
Simply expanding the cheese selection was not the goal of moving to a larger space. “Who knows how many thousands of cheeses there are. We can’t carry them all and we shouldn't,” says Rob Kaufelt, proprietor.

Instead, selections are in a constant cycle of being edited and upgraded. Carrying about 250 cheeses at a given time, Murray’s relies on a core group ofyear-round offerings as well as seasonal, rotating varieties.

“We’re the American version of Neal’s Yard,” explains Kaufelt, referring to the renown English cheese shop known for its farmhouse cheeses and cellar-aging. “We import, travel and look for what no one has.” Kaufelt spends a third of his time seeking out new cheeses in Europe, primarily France, Italy, Spain and Great Britain. Among its imported selections, Murray’s has an exclusive arrangement with Hervé Mons, one of ten master affineurs, or agers, in France, to carry cheeses he discovers, ages and brands under his own label.

As more dairy farmers seek to combat high costs with increased revenuesfrom cheesemaking, American artisinal farmstead cheeses have exploded in popularity. Murray's emphasizes these varieties with selections from Vermont’s Jasper Hill, Sprout Creek in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and Sally Jackson from Washington State among myriad others.

In addition to retail sales, which have nearly doubled since the move, the wholesale arm has in recent years grown to 75 clients nationwide, including the upper echelon of New York restaurants such as Alain Ducasse, Chanterelle, Jean Georges and Per Se.

Affinage on Bleecker Street
The most cutting-edge and impressive feature is the seven authentic underground cheese caves, based on traditional European design.

Affinage, or the art of aging, long a tradition in Europe, has become a buzzword among American cheesemongers as a way to provide optimum storage and aging of inventory until it reaches its peak. Murray’s is among the first retailers in the U.S. to replicate traditional aging caves. (In Manhattan, Artisinal Cheese Center operates a 10,000-square-foot affinage center, opened in 2003, for wholesale and mail-order business.)

French affineur Mons consulted on the building of the aging caves. Each is constructed with vaulted ceilings and made of natural resources. To provide an ideal environment for cheese maturation, proper ventilation, temperature and humidity is individually controlled in each cave. A glass panel on the sidewalk offers a view of the aging cheese, enticing passers-by to enter the store.

The Cheese Course
An educational facility was a must for Kaufelt. Long a primary interest, he planned to initiate a series of classes to address consumers’ growing quest for food knowledge.

The Cheese Course program, taught by staff, food professionals, historians, authors and farmers, began in January. It offers between four to six classes each month in the new location’s mezzanine-level classroom, which overlooks the sales floor and is also used for events. Response has been positive. “Almost every class is already sold out,” says Kaufelt, who teaches “Cheese 101: Ask the Big Cheese” once a month. Other recent classes included “The Mystery of the Caves,” “Weird Cheese,” “Sweet & Savory: Dessert Pairings with Cheese,” “Beer and Cheese Pairing: Cows Don't Eat Grapes” and “Chutneys, Fruit Pastes and Mostardas—Fruit-Based Cheese Accompaniment."

Denise Purcell is managing editor of Specialty Food Magazine.