Beecher's NYC Preparing to Open Next Week

Pike Place Market mainstay Beecher's Handmade Cheese, will open its New York City location June 24. The three-story space in the Flatiron District has all the equipment needed to make cheese, plus a dining area and a menu of sandwiches, salads, soups, and such.

Owner Kurt Dammeier tells the New York Times, "we're happy that we have more freedom in New York," away from Pike Place Market's strict rules, which limit the cheesemaker from selling anything that isn't strictly cheese-related.

Also, his middle name, Beecher, has been in the family for generations but was never a surname. Dammeier told Florence Fabricant it was probably a tribute to Henry Ward Beecher. "In those days it was like it would be to name your kid Barack today."

· Beecher’s — Cheesemaking on Display in Manhattan [NYT]
Beecher's NYC [Photo: Beecher's/Facebook]