Best Bay Area Cheesemakers, Cheese Shops
Best Northern California Cheeses Marin, Best Cheese Tasting Sonoma, Best Cheese Tasting Bay Area, Cheese Shops San Francisco, Best Local Norcal Cheeses
Best San Francisco Bay Area Cheeses
The San Francisco Bay Area is known for its oysters, wine, craft beer, and amazing produce, but one thing that really sets it apart is their cheese.
Given the recent unfortunate outcomes for several popular creameries:
Bohemian Creamery, Sebastopol closure 2024 (one of my all-time faves),
Cowgirl Creamery’s retail closure 2022 (Pt Reyes Station)
Miyoko’s production moved from Fairfax & Petaluma to third parties 2023,
closures of a few retail speciality shops, a few acquisitions, investments:
Emmi Acquires Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery, Sebastopol in 2015
Straus Creamery receives equity stake from Grounded Capital 2024,
and an uncertainty around several local cheesemakers in the area, I felt it was time to share some of my favorite cheesemakers, cheeses, and cheese shops.
When searching for cheese, there are a ton of options out there and it can feel a bit overwhelming with places that have closed, have outdated hours on social media or business listings, stopped samples during COVID or don’t have much to do in the area other than shop and go.
This guide will give you some guidance on what to expect and how to get the most out of your cheese adventures, whether you are looking for experiences on the farms, looking to get cheeses near you or find some of the sought after cheese in Northern California.
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Related reads on Eddie’s List
Top San Francisco Bay Area Cheesemakers, Cheeses
Please note, I mostly included places in San Francisco, Napa, Marin & Sonoma as there is not much outside these areas but I will add more if people want other options, albeit less selection than those posted here already below.