Buy Local, Beecher’s Handmade Cheese Reopens at Pike Place Market
Beecher’s Handmade Cheese reopens its flagship location, Pike Place Market, with limited hours on the weekend. Just in time for American Cheese Month in May. Founder and head cheesemonger Kurt Dammeier filled Welcome Magazine in on the latest.
“Our industry as a whole is really hurting right now and it’s important we keep our farms and cheesemakers operating. As a side note: May is American Cheese Month.”
Unfortunately, Beecher’s Paine Field Airport location is temporarily closed due to COVID-19. But, the original Pike Place Market store recently reopened, with limited hours on the weekend, as bans gradually loosen. Beecher’s Handmade Cheese is such a NW staple, and growing household name, that people can get their hands on artisan-made cheeses from the comfort of their homes via grocery deliveries, Smith Brothers Farms among them.
Cheesemonger Kurt Beecher Dammeier opened his first Beecher’s at historic Pike Place Market in 2003 to share the joys of artisan cheeses and appreciation for the craftsmanship of cheese makers who do it right. Welcome Magazine caught up with Dammeier during this unprecedented time. Things are slowly getting better.
How have you been handling the COVID crisis? Initially, we had to shut down our café and restaurant operations to keep our cheesemakers and their communities well, but we’ve recently reopened our café in the Pike Place Market and we’re taking all of the necessary precautions to keep our staff and our customers safe: social distancing, frequent hand-washing, extra sanitizing of all surfaces, keeping single-use utensils behind the counter, and making sure our employees are healthy. We also offer a no-contact service option through our mobile ordering app, Beechers.app.
What’s the response been from your customers? Our customers have all been very supportive. We couldn’t be more grateful to everyone who is continuing to seek out and buy Beecher’s.
How can people support your business?
- Buy Beecher’s! Look for it at local grocery stores and if you see it out of stock or running low, let a store employee know.
- Buy local artisan cheeses. Our industry as a whole is really hurting right now and it’s important we keep our farms and cheesemakers operating. As a side note: May is American Cheese Month.
- Stay home and when you do go out, please make safe choices. The sooner we get through this, the sooner we can all get back to business.