Murray’s Cheese Reaches Milestone 350th Store

Specialty food retailer Murray’s Cheese has opened its 350th store location in Bloomington, Ind., through a special partnership with the Kroger family of stores.

Established in 1940, New York-based Murray’s offers cheese, meat and other specialty food items at store-within-a-store locations inside Kroger and some of its banners, including Fred Meyer, King Soopers, Ralph’s and QFC locations in more than 30 states.

“Our customers are excited about the opportunity to buy the unique offerings of Murray’s Cheese right in our store,” said Robert Clark, Kroger’s senior VP of merchandising.  “We continue to see high demand and great buzz in new communities as the shops come to town.”

Murray's Cheese shops in Kroger stores replicate the customer experience at its Greenwich Village flagship store. Each carries hundreds of cheeses, charcuterie, olives, crackers and specialty food items from all over the world. Murray’s staff has trained thousands of cheesemongers and certified cheese professionals throughout its relationship with Kroger.

“This is an exciting milestone for Murray’s and the specialty cheese industry,” said Rob Kaufelt, Murray’s owner and president. “In 2008, we pioneered a store-within-a-store concept at a handful of Kroger stores. Between 2008 and 2012, we opened 38 stores, and in 2016 we opened nearly 100.This partnership has exceeded our wildest expectations.”

Cincinnati-based Kroger operates 2,796 retail food stores under a variety of local banner names in 35 states and the District of Columbia.