In mid-June, a new specialty cheese shop dubbed “The Cheesemonger’s Wife,” opened in the Orth Building at 150 South Oregon Street in the space formerly occupied by Sterling Creek Antiques. The shop is the dream of Erik and Erin Luckau, recent transplants from Alexandria, Virginia to a 63-acre tract of land and vineyard abutting Troon Vineyard in the Applegate Valley.
Erik explained, “Erin and I fell in love with cheese after a great experience catering a large-scale party for 150 guests at a specialty cheese shop in our neighborhood, called ‘Cheesetique’.”
The experience proved to be life-changing. After sampling and discovering cheeses such as Manchego from Spain, La Tur from Italy and Cabot Clothbound Cheddar from Vermont—the amazing world of cheese was opened up to the Luckau’s.
“What was even more amazing,” says Erin “was Cheesetique’s approach—the cheesemongers invited us to explore, respected our individual palates and went on a learning journey with us. At the close of the party, the mongers packed up little to-go boxes with a few small bites of the remaining cheeses in each. It was luck of the draw, nobody knew what they would get, but the next morning everybody, including us, had a nice bite to remember the prior evening’s festivities.”
Erik recalls, “Spreading an oozing Camembert over warm toast, Erin and I realized just how versatile cheese was: the Belle of the Ball the night before and decadent spread on toast the next morning!”
The experience hooked the couple on cheese and they soon became regulars at Cheesetique, taking fun and informative wine and cheese pairing classes offered regularly and basically making themselves nuisances at the shop, they say.
Fast-forward a year, when Erik notes, “The Lord brought us to Jacksonville and the gorgeous Applegate Valley… we were excited by the vibrant wine culture, especially the winemaker dinners and farm-to-table affairs.”
Once settled into their vineyard home in the Applegate Valley, neither Erik nor Erin could shake the memory of that little shop in their former neighborhood. “We missed our quaint little cheese shop—we missed the ever-changing selection of over 300 cheeses, the mouth-watering charcuterie, grabbing a ready-made cheese plate and bottle of wine for a tasty bite at home or in the park after a long day,” Erin explains.
“Soon after,” says Erik, “we somehow got the crazy idea that maybe we should try to open our own little cheese shop—it was Erin’s idea, so we decided to name it after her…and The Cheesemonger’s Wife was born! We are bringing exceptional cheese to Jacksonville and everything that pairs with it, including wine and craft beers along with cider… each a natural fit, as is our artisan Stella Gelato imported from Eugene!”
The Luckau’s have been open for a couple of weeks and hope they are creating a special little place for residents of Jacksonville and beyond. “We encourage everyone with an interest in artisan foods to come sample our cheeses, explore with us and let us know what you like. We would like to share our cheese stories with you and have you share yours with us!” Erin says.