Leelanau Cheese

Nice place to stop and see. Their cheese is really good and the whole process is interesting. The gentleman is really nice and attended us very well. We will be back and definitely will recommend.

I was on my way back from Black Star Farms and saw this cute little place. I’m a bit of a cheese nut, so I was really excited to see a little specialty store.
The tasting room is small and doesn’t have a lot going on, but they have a few different kinds of cheese, crackers, and assorted cheese platters. I grabbed a block of rosemary raclette, and my friend got the standard raclette. I also picked up some dill french style fromage blanc. All of the cheeses were absolutely amazing, and I wish I could find them closer to home!
The staff was also very helpful and friendly. This will definitely be on my list of places to go when I come back to the area.

Boom. Five stars.
So, we’ve been coming here to Traverse City many times, and the last two times we’ve went to Leelanau cheese. The tasting room is a good size, and you can see the workers making the cheese. Behind the main building you can see the raclette aging. Go check it out! The person at the register was very friendly and very knowledgeable about the two cheeses. Fellow vegetarians, both cheeses are made with vegetable rennet, at the time I’m writing this. I loved the fromage blanc, and even though I didn’t care for the other cheese, my family thought it was great. If you pass by, definitely try the cheeses! You will regret not getting some.

I slam my brakes and go bonkers when I see a specialty cheese store. Leelanau Cheese is located in Sutton Bay, Michigan off M22 South of Black Star Farms.
Their European style cheeses are pure, fresh, local cow’s milk –adding no color or preservatives. Their main and top seller is the Raclette cheese and French Style Fromage Blanc cheese spread.
I was excited to visit and try whatever they had to offer. The first thing I noticed when I walked in was the visible large windows where you can see the cheese makers in action.
The only cheese available to taste at the time was the Raclette cheese. WOW! it was delicious! It tasted like a swiss/​buttery/​cheddar mix. Very smooth and not pungent.
We purchased a small bag of the rosemary crackers for $ 3.50 and 4 oz. Raclette cheese for $ 6.00. Such a great buy!
Besides cheese, they also sell gifts like cutting boards, jams, jellies, etc.
What an ideal and perfect location. It’s near the wineries and not to hard to find.
Employee was super friendly!
A must visit.
I got their hours from the website:
*Monday to Saturday
*May-​October from 10 – 6
*November-​April from 11 – 5
*Sundays year round from 12 – 5

Amazing cheese!!! I could never leave this area without buying a bunch of there cheese. Yes they only make raclute cheese. But it is absolutely creamy with a small sharp tast amd smooth as butter. Did I mention ot is absolutely amazing! It is also very cheap. If your a cheese lover like I am then you will know when you only pay $ 5-​$ 6 for a small brick… that is a good price.

The «tasting room» is way too small. They were not very friendly… BUT the Raclette cheese (apparently the only one they make) was nothing short of an excellent cheese!
Probably better to make this a side trip while tasting wine at Black Star Farms next door.

Tiny storefront and cheese making room tucked behind Black Star Farm’s wine tasting area. Their selection is small but wonderful. We loved the sharp Raclette, a slightly funky delicious cow’s milk cheese that is best served in the Swiss style also called raclette (melted alongside toasted rustic bread, cornichons, and roasted herbed potatoes). We loved the quaint shop size and offerings, not to mention the kind person manning the shop!

Right around the corner from the Black Star tasting room is Leelanau Cheese. It’s a small batch shoppe that makes mostly Raclette. It’s similar to a Romano Swiss type cheese that is firm in texture and structured in its flavor. The shoppe is nothing more than a small room with a couple refrigerators chilling their product with a cash register and a screen patio door looking into the cheese room. The owners seemed passionate about their cheese which is always a welcome sign. We each grabbed up a little block of the Raclette for snacking back at the cabin and it was delicious. I feel like I would’ve missed out on the Black Star experience had we not stopped in. This is a great little stop for a knob of really tasty cheese (if you like cheese). The cheese was 4 stars. Unfortunately their selection is very limited hence the 3 star review but I would hope that they expand over the next few years as the owners were commenting about growing their business. I hope to see more from Leelanau Cheese and when I’m back in the area I’ll be back for another snack.