Tim and Tom’s Cheese Shop

Samples… free stuff… samples. samples…samples!
We usually stop at the bigger Cheese shops when we are in the area, but I decided to visit based on a friendl’s recommendation. I had this place book-​marked forever and when we drove up, I suddenly remembered why. It’s an antique shop as well as a cheese shop!
Since I had a very active 4 year old with me (hopped on sugar from the Jelly Belly distro center visit) I decided we better stay on the cheese side of the buildng. And it was a very delicious visit. There were cheese samples, mini sausage samples, cheese spread samples… enough for me to make some wise choices for purchase. Their cases are full of wisconsin’s best cheese. although I was hoping to see more sauasages. There are also jams, crackers, pickled veggies for sale too. The cheese shop is artfully decorated with antiques as well. Cute serving dishes, colorful glass… I felt like I was in an old country store.
Service was nice, she gave my son some string cheese for free! And on our way out, She told me to grab a brick of cheese from the front table as a thank you for spending a certain amount there.
We left with our usual staples from when we visit WI – cheese curds and Merkt’s, but also with a few other things I might have overlooked had I not had a sample to try. Those samples… yum.

Excellent selection of cheeses, cured meats and pickled vegetables. Owner was very nice and we received a free spreadable horseradish cheese because we bought so much. I will definitely go back as soon as I run out!

Don’t bother stopping here, they’re not friendly, no hello, or goodbye or acknowledging the customer. We moved on to other cheese shops, placs where people were happy to acknowledege customers and offer samples.

This place is amazing. My husband and I are visiting from Florida, and not only did we get some yummy free samples, we got a great lesson in cheese from the guy at the counter. Wish we could’ve bought the cheese spreads, they were amazing!!! Sadly they’d have been thrown away in our carry on luggage when we tried to fly home. We did buy two bags of cheese curds and two cheese wheels though! They had way more things than just cheese too. If you’re in the area, this is your best possible stop!

When you’re in a meat and cheese shop it’s good to try samples to get a feel for what you’d like to buy. T&Ts has meat, cheese, crackers, spreads, popcorn, chocolate, jellies and other samples for you to try. And that’s the hook, you try a couple of these and there’s no way in hell a sensible human being is leaving without buying something edible. We checked out with a few different cheeses and some beef sticks. Didn’t get farther than the parking lot before the three of us where inhaling our purchase in the car. Great stuff. awesome selection. Cheers!

Fabulous selection of brick cheese, spreadable cheese, sausages and all kinds of wonderful Wisconsin delicacies. I used to go to Mars when visiting and while it is still a fun place to poke around, I will do my cheese shopping here from now on.

Best cheese stop over the boarder! I’m an original Wisconsinite so I know a variety of places that have cheese and good amounts of it, especially the crafters. However, if you’re coming from or to Chicago, Tim & Tom’s is the place to stop. Now Kenosha has not made it easy for you to get to them, but I have to hand it to their tenacity for sticking it out and finding a home in the Antique Barn. It suits them fine and they really do have a wide selection of all types of cheese and sausage, and some of the best crackers for both. They’re very pleasant and kind as well. I much prefer this stop to the Mars (which is very commercialized now, too much for my taste). Plus, they’re always sharing samples of new and interesting items so that is also a nice draw as it brings about interesting discussion around the samples, of which Tim is very knowledgeable. I’ve tried different cheeses than I ever thought I would due to their samples so I’ve broadened my tastes over the years. I would highly recommend your stopping in on your travels!

What a find! Decided to shake it up and skip the Castle this trip, and I’m really glad we did.
Tim and Tom’s is both a cheese shop and an antique emporium! Nice amount of samples: cheese cubes, cheese spreads with crackers, sausages, cheese popcorn, chocolate dipped potato chips, chocolate covered cranberries, and yes, even more cheese! (And yes I did come in to buy something, not just indulge in samples! Haha But indulge… I did;))
We met Tim who was very kind and helpful, and he shared some useful information about the products. From what I could tell the majority of the items were produced IN Wisconsin, unlike some local competitors. But they also carry some varieties of Spanish cheeses, such as Manchego and Drunken Goat. Really nice selection!
I would’ve liked to have spent more time in the antiques section, I spotted quite a few really cool booths that I must explore on my next trip! Seemed like a solid variety of interesting pieces, not just junk that you can find at any old antique shop.
Friendly helpful staff and delicious cheese!

My husband and I came here on our drive back from Milwaukee; we saw Tim and Tom’s Cheese and had to check them out as I saw a guy grilling out some bratwursts. Um, holy cow, that was literally the best bratwurst I’ve ever had in my whole entire life! It was soooo juicy and soooo flavorful, and the topping of the mustard and the caramelized onions just made it heaven; the bun itself was nice and soft, and it was a great meal! I highly recommend during the nice months when they have the grill going as it was just mighty tasty! Check their store out as well as they have some nice cheddar spreads; the staff is friendly and it’s a cool place to stop by if you’re in the area!
+best bratwursts!!! (during the summer season)

LAND OF THE CHEESE
America may be the home of the free but Wisconsin is the land of the cheese and you will find plenty of it here at Tim and Tom’s Cheeses. Cheese is a competitive business on this stretch of highway considering the Castle of Cheese is just up the road from here. I like Tim and Tom’s because it is old school and not cheesy at all. It is everything the castle use to be until they decided to go touristy and actually build a castle. This is a very small shop and all you are going to find is local craft cheese from Wisconsin. I also saw a few spicy cheese containing habanero and ghost peppers. Yes!
One of the things you will notice is that the owner goes around and hand writes index cards to tell you about his favorite cheeses. He will also tell you if a cheese has won an award for being the best cheese and why. I love that about this place. It just gives it a feeling of home. They also have sausages here too. What goes better with cheese besides beer but sausages. Heck if you have all three you have an amazing party in Wisconsin. There were many different sausages to choose from.
On a recent visit here I was able to meet Nancy who was kind enough to tell me a little bit about Tim & Tom… I love a little history from my cheese vendors. She told me that Tim and Tom were 2 of the 5 brothers who’s family once owned Merkts Cheese. I looked at Nancy and said, «What?» Why isn’t that advertised anywhere around here in the store. She said well they do not own the Merkts Cheese company anymore and that someone else owns it. I informed her that the cheese is quite famous and you can find burger places in Chicago putting the Merkts Cheddar on Burgers and Fries. She had no idea. Too bad Tim wasn’t there or I might have asked for a photo opportunity. It is not every day you run into Wisconsin Royalty. I also learned that Tom is retired so it is just Tim who runs the cheese shop. Okay now I love this place even more then the castle. In fact, it is my goal to make sure you Chicago people at least stop by for a visit and compare it to the obnoxious castle up the road.
Okay I know how to get you to stop here. They have cheese and sausage samples. Score! The castle doesn’t give out cheese samples. In fact, Nancy was nice enough to give my family, each a 1oz package of string cheese. Yum and thanks! Have I told you how much I love Wisconsin hospitality? I am sure I have in some of my other reviews. I could have talked to Nancy all day long.
This place also had everything cheese head related. Yes there was packers gear but they also had many different kinds of cheese heads. There was the normal wedge of cheese but they also had a cheese crown. I would have made Tim where that in our photo op… be warned Tim I will be looking for you. They also had a Cheese Fez which is perfect for my buddy Don who lives out of town. Nancy said that she would even ship it directly to Don… the phone number has already been passed on to Don but I am scared he will wear the Cheese Fez on our next business trip. There was also cheese head beer coasters shaped like Wisconsin. There is a lot of dairyland marketing going on there.
This is a new location for Tim & Tom’s Cheeses… they use to be located up the road near the castle but with all of the highway expansion/​construction they lost there building and had to relocate here. I really love there space because they share it with the Rustic Dairyland Antique Mall. This place has tons of antiques to look through and all the merchandise changes weekly depending on what vendor is being featured. You know you need an old Miller Beer Tapper from 1970 for $ 12. See cheese, sausage and cool antiques do mix and equal mad Wisconsin fun.
Okay so next time you are heading to Milwaukee or back to Chicago make sure you stop by and visit here. Nancy would love to see you. She is really friendly and has a wealth of information. Long live Wisconsin Cheese!!!