Murray's Cheese

In Long Island City, Queens, young wheels of Greensward arrive bound in spruce, ready for washing and a spell in Murray’s cheese caves. Jasper Hill makes them; Murray’s supplies the patience.[3][10] Follow those wheels and you travel from a Greenwich Village counter into American supermarkets.

Murray’s brings together New York shops, cheese ageing, teaching, online retail and counters inside Kroger stores. Kroger acquired it in 2017, but specialist selection and affinage, the skilled maturing of cheese, remain central to its identity.[1][2] The business has grown considerably; the details of a good wheel still matter.

Your quick guide to Murray’s

• Founding date: Disputed. Murray’s current account gives 1962; Kroger’s 2017 announcement gives 1940.[1][2]
• Home: Greenwich Village, New York City.[1]
• Ownership: The Kroger Co. announced its completed acquisition on 7 February 2017; current legal ownership remains unconfirmed.[2]
• Locations: Bleecker Street and Grand Central Market, plus supermarket counters.[3]
• Activities: Retail, affinage, wholesale, catering, classes and online sales.[1][4]
• Visitor access: The Long Island City production facility is not open to the public; confirm access to other locations separately.[3]
• Information date: November 2026.[1][3][4]

Start on Cornelia Street, with two possible birthdays

Ask when Murray’s began and you get two answers. Its present account says 1962; Kroger’s 2017 acquisition announcement and older shop histories say 1940. The distinction lies between an earlier dairy provisions business on Cornelia Street and the business trading as Murray’s Cheese.[1][2][5]

A 2021 investigation by the Forward takes you to a precise address: 42 Cornelia Street. Drawing on historical records and an interview with founder Murray Greenberg’s son, it places a predecessor egg business there and dates Greenberg’s purchase of the outlet to 1962. That gives this Greenwich Village story a more specific beginning than the older, frequently repeated version.[5]

At first, cheese shared the shop with everyday provisions. An Italian grocery identity followed, before Rob Kaufelt bought Murray’s in 1991 and developed the broader specialist business. By 2004, reporting traced his cheese searches through Welsh villages, Alpine communities and Vermont farms, alongside a growing restaurant trade.[5][6]

Kaufelt looks beyond the neighbourhood

Under Kaufelt, the cheese range became a reason to make the journey. European imports sat alongside American farmstead cheeses, while restaurant supply brought the selection to diners beyond the shop counter. His grocery retail background helped shape a bigger ambition: specialist cheese need not stay in one neighbourhood.[6][7]

In a 2014 interview, Kaufelt described how supermarket counters could bring cheese to communities served by Kroger. They could also create careers for people interested in it. Murray’s national expansion was already in its owner’s thinking before the acquisition, rather than simply following the sale.[7]

Meet the people behind your wedge

Browse Murray’s maker pages and you encounter people, not just a catalogue. American businesses including Uplands Cheese and Vermont Creamery appear alongside British names such as Quicke’s and Neal’s Yard Dairy. Murray’s presents sourcing as close work with producers, inviting you to look beyond the finished wedge.[8]

Some relationships reach further, into developing and finishing cheeses together. Murray’s names Jasper Hill Farm, Quicke’s and Point Reyes among the creameries sending young wheels to its caves. Buying a finished cheese, selecting one for further maturation and collaborating on a particular cheese are different jobs, each giving Murray’s a different part to play.[9]

Inside the caves, patience becomes flavour

Washing, brushing, turning: affinage keeps hands busy. In Long Island City, Queens, Murray’s staff tend both the cheeses and the surroundings in which they mature. The Borden Avenue caves are a production facility without public access, separate from the Manhattan shops.[3][9]

Murray’s describes four environments: Bloomy Rind, Washed Rind, Natural Rind and Alpine caves. Each allows a different treatment. Picture a soft cheese developing a downy rind and yielding centre, or cheddar taking a longer route towards concentrated savoury flavours.[9][10]

Greensward shows you where one business’s work ends and another’s begins. Jasper Hill makes the spruce-bound wheels, then Murray’s receives them young for washing and maturation in New York. Its current description specifies cider washing, a spoonable paste and tasting notes of mushroom, brandied cherry and wood.[10]

The company also distinguishes cheeses made to its own recipes from collaborative Reserve cheeses and experimental Limited releases. Another group matures using methods associated with the original producer. Those labels help you read the Murray’s name: it can mean selection and maturation, or a deeper production collaboration, with the individual product account explaining its contribution.[10]

Make room at the counter for American cheese

Greensward and Murray’s Cave Aged Original Stockinghall Cheddar are among the American cheeses in the range. An August 2026 Harris Teeter announcement also named Barnstorm Blue, Hudson Flower and Carpenter’s Wheel for a launch in five Charlotte-area supermarket kiosks. Together, they offer you a dated snapshot of the styles travelling through Murray’s network.[4][9][10]

Imports have long shared that counter. A 2004 account recorded Brin d’Amour, a Corsican sheep’s milk cheese, among Kaufelt’s offerings. Today, Murray’s catalogue groups include Gouda, Brie, Alpine cheeses and cheeses for grating: useful starting points when the selection keeps changing.[6][8]

Follow those routes, then turn to the product listing for the actual producer and origin. To separate a cheese’s style from its name, start with milk, rind, texture and method. Murray’s gives you a useful view of American cheese culture because domestic makers share the specialist conversation with imports, rather than sitting apart in an introductory category.[8]

Find Murray’s across counters, parcels and menus

The flagship at 254 Bleecker Street and the Grand Central Market shop are the two New York retail locations listed in November 2026. Murray’s also lists a terminal kiosk at Grand Central. Its location finder maps supermarket counters separately, so a Manhattan shop visit and a stop inside a regional grocery chain offer distinct encounters with the business.[3]

Online, you can choose individual cheeses, collections and other foods, with Murray’s describing cheese cut to order. Its shipping information expressly covers Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. Options depend on your destination and order contents, so use the live checkout for your address and the support page for current arrangements.[11]

You might also encounter Murray’s without spotting its name above the door. Its current wholesale page offers cheeses, charcuterie and accompaniments to restaurants and other hospitality businesses. The New York business provides catering too, making Murray’s both a destination and a supplier behind other people’s menus.[1][12]

Taste, ask, then taste with a little more understanding

A guided tasting can help you find words for what you enjoy. Murray’s advertises tasting classes and events, including sessions about cave ageing in its New York classrooms. Its private virtual experiences pair delivered cheeses and accompaniments with an online session led by a Murray’s expert; consult the company for current programmes and booking conditions.[4][9][13]

The useful part is connecting flavour, rind and texture to the work behind them. Learn a little about maturation and you gain more than a tasting note: you have a reason for what is on your tongue.[9][13] Before a class, how cheese is made introduces the journey from milk to finished cheese.

How Kroger’s partnership became a purchase

According to Kroger, the supermarket partnership began in 2008. By 7 February 2017, when it announced the acquisition, Kroger reported more than 350 Murray’s shops within its locations. The completed purchase covered Murray’s equity and its Bleecker Street flagship location.[2]

Kaufelt, named in the announcement as the former owner and president, was to stay on as a strategic adviser. Ownership changed, while continuity remained in the New York operation. The purchase marked a separate stage in the story: Murray’s supermarket presence had been growing for years before Kroger bought the business.[2]

An August 2026 Harris Teeter announcement describes Murray’s as part of the Kroger family, present in more than 1,200 stores nationwide. Read that as the company’s dated account of its network, including supermarket counters. It is not a count of freestanding cheese shops.[4]

Does the knowledge travel with the cheese?

The clearest benefit of scale is access. You can encounter specialist cheese during an ordinary grocery shop, just as Kaufelt argued before selling the business. The 2026 Charlotte launch brings that ambition to the counter, taking cheeses from Murray’s maturation programme into selected supermarkets rather than keeping them in New York.[4][7]

The real test is whether knowledgeable guidance travels too. A wider footprint is most useful when you can identify the maker, understand the maturation and get informed help choosing. Murray’s attention to producer stories, cave work and guided shopping gives you practical ways to assess an individual counter.[4][8][9]

Expect different selections in different places. A small-batch cave release, a restaurant order and a supermarket range have different jobs to do. Ask three questions: which cheeses are available here, who made them, and what did Murray’s contribute? Reading a cheese label helps separate those roles when the retailer’s name catches your eye first.[10][12]

Before you set off, or fill your basket

For a British reader, Murray’s makes most sense as a cheesemonger and affineur working across several retail formats within a supermarket group. It selects cheeses, matures some and explains them to customers. Its place in American cheese culture comes from connecting that specialist approach with everyday grocery shopping, restaurant supply and organised education.[1][2][12][13]

Before visiting, use Murray’s official location finder and confirm event bookings and accessibility arrangements. Before ordering, look at the specific cheese listing, delivery destination and substitution options. Delivery to Britain remains unconfirmed.[3][11]

Murray’s support page says seasonal availability and supply limitations can mean substitutions, especially in gift selections. Treat a published product page as your starting point, not your final shopping list, however firmly your heart has settled on a particular wedge. Establish what is available now before placing your order.[11]

The Rind Question

Questions people ask

Who owns Murray’s Cheese?

Kroger announced its completed acquisition of Murray’s on 7 February 2017. The current legal owner has not been verified.

Where are Murray’s Cheese shops?

Murray’s lists shops at 254 Bleecker Street and Grand Central Market in New York, as well as a terminal kiosk at Grand Central. Its location finder maps supermarket counters separately.

Can you visit Murray’s cheese caves?

The Long Island City production facility and its Borden Avenue caves are not open to the public. Murray’s advertises classes about cave ageing in its New York classrooms.

Does Murray’s make its own cheese?

Murray’s selects cheeses and matures some in its caves. It also distinguishes cheeses made to its own recipes from collaborative Reserve cheeses and other releases.

Does Murray’s Cheese deliver to Britain?

Delivery to Britain has not been verified. Murray’s shipping information covers Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico, with options depending on the destination and the order’s contents.

Sources

1. Murray’s Cheese. Our Story. Undated, current website version retrieved November 2026. Company account of its founding and operations.
2. The Kroger Co. Kroger and Murray’s Cheese Announce Merger. 7 February 2017. Corporate announcement confirming a completed purchase.
3. Murray’s Cheese. Locations. Undated, current website version retrieved November 2026. Official location finder and production-site access information.
4. Harris Teeter. Murray’s Cheese Debuts Exclusive Cave Aged Collection at Harris Teeter. Corporate release, 27 August 2026, distributed by PR Newswire. Commercial source for its own launch and operational statements.
5. Forward, Andrew Silverstein. Is the legend of Murray’s Cheese only a myth?. 2021. Reported investigation incorporating family interviews and historical documents.
6. The New Yorker. Big Cheese. 23 August 2004 issue. Contemporary reporting.
7. Daily Meal, Raymond Hook. Hooked On Cheese: Interview With Murray’s Rob Kaufelt. 22 May 2014. Primary interview evidence for Kaufelt’s stated intentions.
8. Murray’s Cheese. Makers. Undated, current website version retrieved November 2026. Company description of sourcing, maker relationships and catalogue navigation.
9. Murray’s Cheese. Murray’s Cheese Caves. Undated, current website version retrieved November 2026. Company description of maturation, supplying creameries and education.
10. Murray’s Cheese. Murray’s Cave Aged Reserve Greensward. Undated, current product-page version retrieved November 2026. Commercial product account and tasting notes.
11. Murray’s Cheese. Murray’s Support Center. Undated, current website version retrieved November 2026. Ordering, delivery and substitution information.
12. Murray’s Cheese. Murray’s Cheese Wholesale. Undated, current website version retrieved November 2026. Company description of wholesale customers and services.
13. Murray’s Cheese. Virtual Private Events & Experiences. Undated, current website version retrieved November 2026. Company description of delivered tasting selections and expert-led online sessions.

This desk-researched article compares current company information with dated acquisition records, contemporary reporting and published interviews, distinguishing company descriptions from editorial interpretation.

Last checked: November 2026

Last checked November 2026.