Welcome to Broadway Stages’ Business Spotlight, where we feature local shops, restaurants, and venues in the communities where we have operations. We encourage our readers to join us in supporting these establishments and advancing local economic growth

Cheese! A truly amazing food that has had one of the biggest effects on the art of gastronomy. Virtually every culture has their favorite cheese along with a favorite cheese inspired dish. At most parties you can usually find guests crowded around a delicious spread or eyeing the selection from across the room. There’s just something so pleasant and inviting about a wonderful selection of cheeses and complementary meats, spreads, fruits, and other goodies that entices even the pickiest of eaters. Finding the perfect cheese, now that is another story. The kind of cheese that makes a meal or a snack memorable. Lucky for us, that kind of cheese can be found at Murray’s Cheese in Long Island City.

What started as a small operation in 1940 has grown into one of the biggest names in cheese in all of NYC. Today, their products can be found at over 800 grocery stores and over 600 restaurants across the country. They have three Cheese Shops in the city – Greenwich, Grand Central and Murray’s Cheese LIC. The first of its kind from Murray’s, their main location in LIC features both a Cheese Bar restaurant and an adjacent Cheese Shop – truly a one-stop-shop for all things cheese.

Murray’s Cheese Bar, located at 28-30 Jackson Avenue in LIC, features cheese boards along with seasonally inspired dishes from Executive Chef Clare Malfitano. Chef Clare expertly highlights cheeses and fresh dairy alongside seasonal produce, carefully sourced meats, and ingredients from the Murray’s shop next door. One look at their menu and you will want to make a reservation (takeout and delivery are also available). The restaurant is open 3 – 10 pm Monday thru Thursday, and 12 — 10 pm Friday thru Sunday. Takeout and delivery are available daily noon to 9 pm.

Murray’s Cheese Shop is equally impressive! Just steps away from the restaurant, the shop features a rotating selection of 40 cheeses, many plucked from their cheese caves down the street. The self-service cheese shop is intended to help guests feel empowered to explore the cheese case more closely, with highly knowledgeable staff at their side to answer questions.  Open daily from 10 am — 8 pm, the Cheese Shop features more than 400 items – everything that you’d put on a cheese plate, prepared foods, smoked fish, dairy, snacks, pasta and sauces, chocolates, olive oil, fresh baguettes, iced coffee, beverages, and more. They even offer classes, private events, and a special bootcamp for the true cheese lover! You can read about the offerings and sign up on their website. We encourage you to also take a look at their Instagram and Facebook pages, but we warn you that it may cause an insatiable craving for cheese. So, next time you go out or want to build an amazing charcuterie board, pick up a few snacks, or just learn more about cheese, we suggest you head over to Murray’s! As always, tell them Broadway Stages sent you.