Stephanie (our publisher) and I went to Cleveland this past weekend to work with Heinen's, a fantastic supermarket chain that's recently opened its first store outside of Ohio, in Chicago. We were there for a massive cheese & beer event for Cleveland Beer Week on Sunday, which Heinen's coordinated with Culture, 15 U.S. brewers, and 20 cheeses. It was an astounding success...more to come on that. This blog is about HEINEN'S.

Stephanie and I arrived around lunchtime on Saturday (as you do), and we wandered the aisles hungrily looking at everything. There were tastings and samples throughout the store, including beer (Widmer's aged cheddars and Widmer Brothers Brewing) and...cheese! We bought up a basket of tasty produce, some fresh bread and salami, then pounced upon Kelly, who was doling out Heinen's handmade cheese spreads: one with shredded cheddars and spicy jalapeno, the other a sweeter mix madewith chevre. We sampled and chatted, and Stephanie bounded behind to snag the photo op. And then we perused the excellent cheese case, with freshly cut wedges of cheeses from across the globe and descriptive signs that said it all. Heinen's, we're impressed! Ohio, you've got something great going on here! (And your beer's pretty awesome, too!)