Murray's Cheese Shop

Happy National Cheese Day everyone! To celebrate, we are highlighting Murray's Cheese Shop, which was founded in 1940 by Murray Greenberg.

The shop on the corner of Bleecker Street at Cornelia was purchased by Robert Kaufelt in 1991 and moved to a larger location directly across the street in 2004. (First film photo of the older location was taken in 2001 and appears in our book “Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York”.)

When Rob Kaufelt bought the business, he grew the store into an internationally known food destination that includes educational programs, a full-service restaurant, catering, and state-of-the-art cheese aging caves in Long Island City.

Personally, our love affair with Murray’s Cheese began in 1994, when we were newlyweds on a budget, often buying cheese from the small Bleecker Street store to eat with some freshly baked bread purchased from the nearby Zito & Sons Bakery. Plus, with Murray’s being our namesake, we felt an immediate connection to the store.