Cheesey Beginnings

Once upon a time, I fell in love with a cheese. It was an unusually warm afternoon in San Francisco and I stopped in at the grocery store to pick up a snack after my long, thankless day as a retail merchant in corporate America. I stumbled upon a cheese called Humboldt Fog. I had never seen it before, no one was there to help me out, but it called to me. So I went for it. After warming up on the walk home, I opened it, and stumbled into a sensation previously unknown. Deliciously soft, fresh with flavor, unmistakably hand craftedI havent looked back.

This was the beginning of the Mission Cheese story, and many years later, I find myself so close to the culmination of a dream, but also in a situation where I could really use some help.

Our Mission

Provide the best assortment of American artisan cheeses, connect communities to the source of their food and the farmers that grow it, and offer delicious, honest food in a casual setting.

What is Mission Cheese?

Mission Cheese is what we like to call a cheese house. If a cheese shop, a caf, and a wine bar got together and had a baby, that baby would be Mission Cheese. Like a caf, you order at the front and we bring your food and drinks to you. Of course there will be cheese plates of all shapes and sizes, but there will also be pressed sandwiches, delicious mac and cheese, seasonal sides, and raclette (a traditional dish of the Swiss and French Alps). The food will be served with beer, wine, and coffee, to enhance the atmosphere. And, like a cheese shop, you can also take bulk cheese to go.

Mission Cheese will do for artisan cheese what a coffee shop does for coffee, a brewpub does for beer, a wine bar for wine, and a bakery does for bread and pastries. We will offer a unique experience where cheese is enjoyed, discussed, and paired in an unpretentious casual setting.

Where We Are Now

Three weeks away. Literally. Holy cows milk, its getting crazy! Were nearly done building out a brand new space in San Franciscos Mission District. We started from scratch and have spent four months building out what we think is going to be an amazing space to celebrate hand crafted American artisan and farmstead cheese. Weve plumbed, tiled, refinished chairs, and stained the floors, weve built tables, cabinets, and a cheese wall, weve purchased most of our equipment, and are in the process of hiring staff. This is all very exciting, but

Where You Come In

We could really use some help. We feel like weve done a pretty decent job satisfying our desire for quality and environmental sustainability while keeping costs low. Many parts of our shop are used and reclaimed. But construction costs have nudged higher lets face it, this city is expensive. I wont beat around the thistle bush. This is what we need to open.

1.     Cheese Storage ($6,000) glass-faced refrigeration to display the goods

2.     Construction ($6,000) stacked cabinets to house the refrigerators