A cheese lover’s dream

MONROE, Wis. – If someone is looking for a certain type of cheese, there is a good chance they will find it at Alp and Dell Cheese Store. A haven for the cheese connoisseur, Alp and Dell Cheese Store offers more than 150 flavors – from classic cheddars to European specialties like Grand Cru.
“I search for the best cheese all the time, and as a result, we have an amazing selection here,” said Tony Zgraggen, the store’s owner.
Devoted to providing exceptional products to his customers, Zgraggen believes in quality, affordability, variety and flavor and will not rest until he finds what he is looking for. The former dairy farmer and Swiss immigrant focuses on serving his customers well. From 18-pound wheels to 1-pound blocks to cheese curds and string cheese, Alp and Dell Cheese Store carries all types and sizes of cheese.
Zgraggen grew up on a small dairy farm in Switzerland and came to the U.S. in 1978 as an exchange student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He returned to America full time in the spring of 1981 and began farming near New Glarus, where he milked 70 Brown Swiss cows.
“I know what it is like out there,” he said. “I can relate to the farmer.”
Zgraggen purchased the cheese store in 2009 from Emmi Roth – the cheese manufacturer to which the store is attached. Zgraggen redesigned the store and doubled its size and saw sales volume triple.
Specializing in Swiss and other European style cheeses, the Roth brand is famous for its Grand Cru flavor made in original, reserve  and surchoix varieties. Grand Cru was the world champion cheese in 2016 and is a cheese people ask for by name at Alp and Dell Cheese Store.
“Winning that was a great thing to happen to a small plant like Roth,” Zgraggen said. “I buy over 50% of my cheese from them. I like to represent Roth and promote their product.”
Zgraggen buys cheese from approximately six cheese companies in Green County and about 15 others throughout Wisconsin.
“Milk is the most perfect food on the planet, and the milk around here is especially good,” Zgraggen said. “The soils, rolling hills and clean watersheds all contribute to a great product, and it’s the reason why cheesemakers are able to make such fantastic cheese. We have more cheese factories than towns in Green County. We’re well known for our cheese, and I’m proud of that.”
Zgraggen’s store shelves are lined with havarti, Gouda, Butterkase, canela, blue, Swiss and more than 35 types of cheddars from cherry to blueberry to cranberry to green olive. Cheddars that are mildly aged to a 14-year-old cheddar that sells for $25 a pound can also be found at Alp and Dell Cheese Store.
“Aged cheese comes with a price,” Zgraggen said. “You have to pay for curing and storing it that long.”
On the opposite end of the spectrum, a bargain bin at the store’s entrance contains products priced at $3.99 a pound.
“These cheeses have great taste, but they don’t have the beauty,” he said. “You might find a $20 per pound product in there created from shavings or trim. Throughout the year, you can find almost all brands in this bin.”
Alp and Dell Cheese Store’s most popular cheeses include baby Swiss and Butterkase. Cheddars and grand cru are also top sellers as well as fresh cheese curds. The store sells 400 pounds of cheese curds each week.
“I have cheese priced for a working family and retired people on a fixed budget,” Zgraggen said. “They can come here and eat well.”
The store moves over a million dollars’ worth of cheese each year or 130,000 pounds.
Christmas gift boxes are a beloved offering of the store, and from late fall through December, Alp and Dell Cheese Store ships a couple hundred packages of cheese per day.
“Christmas is a good season for us,” Zgraggen said. “I like to help individuals and businesses with their Christmas shopping. Last year, we made over 1,000 boxes for one client, putting 6,000 pounds of cheese out into the U.S. for a single business.”
The gift boxes are completely customizable and available in all sizes. The box may also include sausages, jams, mustards and chocolates.
“The boxes are a big thing for us at Christmas, and I’m very happy and proud that I can serve my customers in this way,” Zgraggen said. “It keeps the lights on for a long time here.”
Closed only four days per year – New Year’s Day, Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day –  Alp and Dell Cheese Store is well known throughout the region, and every year the store welcomes customers from every state.  
“People know we’re always open, and they love that,” Zgraggen said. “We get a lot of people on Sunday; it’s one of our top three days for business. People come in and say, ‘Hey, thanks for being open. I want to take some great cheese back to Illinois.’ People know me for the good product I have in store at a good price.”
Alp and Dell Cheese Store offers wedding cakes made from cheese, putting a new spin on the word cheesecake. Each level contains a different flavor, and the stacks of wheels are decorated with dried flowers and other accessories.
“I’ve sent cheese for a wedding cake as far as New Mexico,” Zgraggen said. “I have also shipped 200 little bags of cheese curds to Idaho overnight for a wedding. We do a lot of different things here, but our brick-and-mortar store is still the main attraction.”
The store also carries Amish butter, cheese spreads, hand rolled salted butter and local yogurt. Zgraggen sells jams and mustards to pair with the cheese as well as local beers,  European wines and  locally made sausage.  A variety of cheese samples are always out for people to try. Zgraggen runs Alp and Dell Cheese Store with help from about a half-dozen employees as well as his wife, who comes in on weekends. Zgraggen sees his retailer role in the supply chain as integral to the industry.
“I don’t produce anything, but I help keep cheesemakers and farmers in business,” he said. “That is my motive. No matter what you produce, if nobody sells it, you’ll quit doing it fairly soon. Retail runs the country and brings products to the end user… It isn’t always easy to find that end user when the choice today is tremendous.”
Serving the dairy industry in this way remains Zgraggen’s passion as he continues to fill his store with the best cheese Wisconsin has to offer.