Meet ICR 2023’s feel-good food champion: Love Cheese

A cheesemonger alongside with a cheese and wine bar must be nigh on top of the list for any cheese lovers asked what businesses they’d love to frequent in their town – and so the foodies of York must have cheered when, 10 years ago, Love Cheese was launched on Gillygate, York.

After two years, the business was bought by Harry and Phoebe Baines, who last year sold it to Jordan Thomson, a manager who they’d employed in 2020.

Today, Love Cheese is a veritable empire in the area, boasting a cheesemonger, cheese and wine bar (charmingly named the Speakcheesey), and the Secret Garden. The business having three outlets was a smart move.

“We offer a larger range than most other cheesemongers our size, this is due to having multiple outlets for the cheese (the shop, the website, the Speakcheesey, virtual events etc) so we can get through the produce whilst it is fresh and not worry too much about being over stocked,” explains Jordan.

Plus, the experience between all three outlets has proven pretty seamless – a boon for Jordan and customers alike. “Having all of the outlets including the Speakcheesey and Secret Garden mean that customers can sit in, have a cheeseboard and a glass of wine. Then when it is time to leave, they are essentially exiting through the gift shop where they take lots more cheese home too. Most importantly, we are all a friendly bunch who are just happy to have a chat and a good time.”

A destination for cheese lovers This focus on customer experience has reaped rewards. “We have quickly climbed TripAdvisor and Google rankings as both a cheesemonger and a cheese and wine bar; we’re 26th out of all places to eat in York at the time of writing, and it’s getting better by the day!” says Jordan, and the business’s online presence doesn’t end there, with a successful webstore and regular schedule of virtual events.

Indeed, the popularity of Love Cheese’s online events are one of Jordan’s proudest achievements from the past year. “We are still regularly sending out 100+ couple’s boxes for these events. So that is 200 people talking and eating our cheese and wine all across the UK.”

The business is enjoying more analogue success too. “We’re so proud of how many times we’ve been put forward for food and travel magazines – we massively appreciate it, and are grateful to the people who let us know we have been featured as often it is a surprise!”