Inspirational Cheese Retailers 2025: The Cheese Shop, Morpeth

The Cheese Shop
Location: Morpeth
Founder: Danielle Cameron (2025)
Founded: 1990

You cannot fail to miss The Cheese Shop in Morpeth. The store’s dandelion yellow frontage is a beacon, attracting in both locals and tourists alike – many of whom are inevitably drawn in by the irresistible smell of cheese.

Founded 35 years ago, the business has been a familiar fixture in the town for a couple of generations now, gaining many regular, loyal customers. And as of last summer it’s been in the hands of Danielle Cameron, who took over the reins from John and Shiela Holyoak as they retired after just over a decade at the helm.

A new start

Food lover Danielle bought the shop after coming into some inheritance money. Running her own business, she thought, would give her the flexibility to work around her family and childcare commitments – and what’s more fun that working with cheese?

“It’s just up the road from me, it was doing well, and I thought I just had to give it a go,” she smiles.

“It’s a well-loved shop too. When regular customers found out it was being sold, they panicked, thinking it would turn into something else. When they realised it was still going to be a cheese shop it was such a relief for them – it’s a very busy place.”

Absolutely key to getting the new version of The Cheese Shop off the ground, says Danielle, has been working alongside the existing staff, who have remained with her. “Most of them have been here for a few years now and if they weren’t here to teach me, I’d be lost. It was also nice that the old owners stayed on for two weeks to help us transition. I’ve already learnt so much,” she adds.

Plans for the future

In addition to handing out samples of cheese (something that hadn’t happened in the shop for quite some time), Danielle says she’s ringing the changes within the business by ensuring the staple cheeses (ones that sell regularly like Montagnolo and Black Bomber) are supported by regularly changing new stock, so the variety of 80 to 100 types always has something different for customers to try.

“The stock has been the same for quite a while, so it’s nice to have new things,” Danielle says. “Customers are liking sampling flavours of Snowdonia Cheese they haven’t been able to buy here before, like Amber Mist, Rock Star and Bouncing Berry.”

Danielle has also taken the shop into the 21st Century by reviving its social media accounts and introducing it to TikTok. “TikTok is such a big platform, and I’m building the Facebook back up too. I’m already starting to see more and more people interested in us. An example is we just started to sell Doddington ice cream. I put that on TikTok and sales picked up.”

Adding local wines, spirits, ales and ciders to The Cheese Shop, to complement the cheeses, is also on the cards.

The local connection

Speaking of local, while many of the folk who pass through The Cheese Shop’s doors are from the area, Morpeth is firmly on Northumberland’s tourism map and, as we all know, tourists love taking a slice of their holiday home with them.

The shop’s cheese counter is split between European and British (from Le Gruyére to Stilton), but there is also a skew towards local makers to target this market. “The main ones we have are from Northumberland Cheese Company. That’s only 15 minutes up the road from us. And we have lots of cheeses from Yorkshire, including Harrogate Blue and Yorkshire Blue too.”

Enhancing the local offering further are butter and eggs sourced nearby, Northern honey, and regionally sourced chutneys, as well as plum bread from Whitby.

Sourcing and making discoveries has become a real pleasure for Danielle, who says she loves everything about being a fledgling cheesemonger. “From speaking to the customers, to learning with the customers. It’s all great fun.”

Her next step (after conquering TikTok that is) is to take The Cheese Shop exprience out to markets and events, with plans for a giant cheese cart underway. Watch this space!