Ehlenbach’s Cheese Chalet

«You must not know ’bout me. You must not know ’bout me. I can have another you by tomorrow, so don’t you ever for a second get to thinking you’re irreplaceable.» — Beyoncé
At the beginning of 2016 I took another trip up to MN, past the Cheddar Curtain, and discovered that my beloved Wisconsin Cheese & Wine Chalet had betrayed me. They were permanently closed. I can’t say I was completely surprised, but giving someone 10 years of loyalty only to be left out in the cold is a shock to the system. I was lost and didn’t know what to do or where to go. Early in our relationship I’d given other places a try but they hadn’t impressed me as much, so I’d committed and now found myself alone.
Dating is hard. Finding a cheese/​wine/​gifts/​meats shop worth my time is harder. Fortunately, Ehlenbach’s was a quick rebound. «I can have another you by tomorrow.» Literally. Bey knows what’s up.
I discovered the WC&WC was closed on Saturday and I was in love with Ehlenbach’s by Sunday. And this was actually an upgrade, too. There was much more variety and having it just outside Madison makes it a nice little stop somewhat in the middle of my journey.
You name it; they’ve got it! They have cases upon cases of cheese (I highly recommend the aged cheddars), there’s a good wine and beer selection, they offer Wisconsin-​centric souvenirs, they have meats, they have chocolates and candies, and they have individually packaged packets of tasty Door County Coffee. They even sell imported cuckoo clocks! How cool is that?!
Moving on can be scary, but it might just mean that you’re movin’ on up!

Cheese, honey, candy and more, bacon, popcorn and beer galore.
The cheeses are all fantastic but I especially enjoyed the cheese curds and string cheese. Both very salty and tasty. I couldn’t stop eating them. Bought honey, popcorn, some chocolate covered peanuts, and so many more things. It was a party in the car after leaving. Definitely worth a stop as it’s right off the highway.

Great customer service and what a cheese selection! I used to come home with a carry on half full and dearly miss this place since my parents moved away. Good thing they ship! Fun cheeses if you want to try something unique and good basics if you’re not the adventurous type. My favorite is the habanero jack.

I stop by everytime I am in the area! Great aged chedder chesse and friendly staff!

A little over a year ago my Husband and I moved to Madison from Chicago. Wisconsin had always been our home away from home. Well now that we’re residents here we figured that we need to explore our surrounding areas. Our motto is «Saturdays are for exploring and Sunday’s are for relaxing (or football depending on the season)»
We kept seeing these commercials and thought we should totally go! With my Mom and Daughter both coming to visit we wanted to get them some Wisconsincentric gifties.
I had to get a stuffed ‘Sissy the Cow’! That’s the name of the huge two ton cow that greets you when you pull into the parking lot. Too cute!
We purchased some smoked string cheese that was gone before the end of their visit… a real HIT! We also got some delicious jams, jellies and fudge… not to mention Packer burgers!
The girls behind the counter were very nice and patient as my Husband asked to try several different cheeses. We ended up getting some VERY hot and unique cheeses. I HIGHLY recommend that you go for some hard to find cheeses.
We can’t wait to go back for some of our new favorites and for some true Wisconsin flavor!

Cool store with an unbelievable amount of cheese… good service with samples… Plan to be back

My mom and I were on a rode trip and made it in the door about 5 minutes before close. The stuff was very friendly and helpful and didn’t make us feel rushed or unwanted. However, we did try to hustle anyway! We bought some cheese, fudge and sausage. All tasted good :)

Been to lots of these stands, and found this to be the most overpriced of all of ‘em all, with the least friendly customer service. We asked a few questions about the differences in some of the more obscure cheeses, and we were never offered to sample any to make sure it was what we wanted. The two girls working behind the counter were more focused on socializing between the two of them than giving decent customer service. Ten dollars for a medium-​sized jar of pickles or a pack of cheese curds is a little steep. We still bought a few items, but will never go back.

I like good cheese and they’ve got it. Helpful staff made a good suggestion, that cheese was fine, really hit the spot.

Cheese is overpriced and not fresh. The cheesecurds were vacuum sealed and can stand months on the shelf, not at all what fresh cheese curds are supposed to be and at $ 7 a pack compared to $ 4 tops fresh from the factory, this place is a ripoff. Gave it 2 stars cuz the venison sticks were good.

A must stop for our family on the way to Mpls to visit family. We like the spreads, smoked string cheese, fudge, and curds. We usually pick up a variety and end up stopping on the way home to IL for a snack too.

There is a cow outside and her name is Sissy… and they have cheese. How could you not want to stop? Well, I have…3 times so far. Each time I browse and take about an hour trying to decide on what kinds of goodies I get this time.
Their selection is absurd! I almost had to laugh how much cheese can occupy one place. But the nice thing is that it is not only cheese. They have cured bacon. Cheese and bacon in one place. Oh, and Door County wines. Yeah. This is right off the freeway and conveniently located when I am on my way from work which is dangerous.
Yup, service is ok. They let you try the cheeses before you purchase and they ship. You can’t go wrong.

Nothing unique about this place. The staff weren’t exactly offering to help us, so we didn’t try any cheeses, therefore we didn’t purchase any. I saw a lot of large retailer brands and not so much on small, locally produced cheese. Prices were also quite high. You could get the same cheese from a grocery store.
The big cow outside made for a few good photo ops and if you go down the street, there’s a big pink elephant to laugh at. Otherwise, I suggest finding a small creamery making their own cheeses and spending your money there.

This place is awesome. I love cheese. So many different cheese. They let you try the cheese before you buy it. Awesomeness

Cheese = Amazing
Cheese curds = amazing x2
The hidden gem of this place, however is the red velvet fudge. Snatch some up immediately.
Service was also very helpful.
Summing it up: stop here if you can.

Nice variety, selection goes well beyond cheese. They don’t have the freshest cheese curds but they’re good enough. What’s blowing me away is this jar of pickles we got there in mid-​January that is still good end of May. And there aren’t preservatives listed as an ingredient. I think they pickle well at Ehlenbach’s.

Today I woke up and thought to myself… I want to go to a cheese place! I was in the Dells and I knew there would be plenty of cheese stores off the highway on my way home and I just felt like after 31 years of livin’ in Wisconsin, well I need to hit a good cheese store!
The Cheese Chalet was everything I thought it would be and more! First of all, you get 2 great roadside attractions when you pull up. A giant mouse chasing a cheese sign and a giant cow– 2 more reasons I love Wisconsin! This place was for sure a Chalet– there was so much cheese to choose from I needed to stop and take a deep breathe before starting my search for the perfect cheese. They also have a great selection of Wisconsin flair, I was more then tempted to spend all my money on Wisconsin magnets, cheese keychains and bumper sticks proclaiming my love for this great state.
I ended up leaving with a bag full of cheese and sausage, mission accomplished! Thank you Ehlenbach’s Cheese Chalet, today you made my dreams come true

If I’m driving through DeForest you can be sure to find me at Ehlenbach’s! Sure it is a touristy cheese castle and you can probably get great cheese curds at a local grocery store in Anytown, Wisconsin, but I’m not from these parts and I love the cheese! I love their garlic and herb, cheddar, and marbled curds. Whenever I’m running low on cheese merchandise like hats made of cheese, cheese magnets, cheese souvenirs I know where I can stock up! They ship to anywhere in the country. They have a very photogenic store front too! After a long day of waterslides at Wisconsin Dells, make the drive back to Milwaukee a little better by stopping at Ehlenbach’s Cheese Chalet!

We were leaving the Dells and I was on a mission to find cheese curds before we got back to Chicago. We saw the sign for the Cheese Chalet on the expressway and my dude pulled over. I was disappointed they didn’t have dill cheese curds but I guess you can’t win them all. I grabbed a bag of garlic and herb curds and brought them out to my family in the car. After everyone had a bite, my dude ran in to get another bag! The girls behind the counter were friendly and the store is neat as a pin. There’s not much around the place so it’s something you just make a stop at but it’s a cute place to check out!

Sure there’s lots of cheese places in Wisconsin and you can’t miss on many of them. This one goes out of its way to get noticed. As you head west on I90/​94 past Madison, near DeForest, you see a tall sign that reads «CHEESE» and a mouse dressed in Oktoberfest attire climbing up the sign. This mouse was our reason to check it out. According to their postcard, the mouse is 14 feet tall. Now that’s a big rodent!
Anyway, the shop has a wide selection of cheeses, cheese curds, and meats that complement the cheese. There’s also some jams, honeys, and crafted items for sale. The bathroom is clean and the staff is helpful. Clearly, their business thrives on passing tourists like us who come for the mouse and bite on the cheese later.