Cheese Central

I love cheese and the staff here helped us picked a few different selections. Along with nuts, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and bread. Yes the trick is to go here first to buy cheese and take that with you to your wine tasting. It is allowed and encouraged by this shop, they say all the tasting rooms allow their cheese. We will do that first rather than last next time.
Not sure which cheese to purchase because there is so much variety SURPRISE they will let you taste them… maybe all of them I don’t know but each one we inquired about we got to taste like 31 flavors style. We spent quite a bit or rather my buddy spent a lot on cheese etc.

I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this place!!!
Amazing cheeses and the most friendliest helpful staff ever!

Our favorite shop in downtown Lodi. The staff is knowledgable and friendly. The cheese is to die for! we highly recommend!

Good little cheese shop, workers are super friendly and attentive. Good suggestions and some samples are available. Highly recommend you come here before you start your wine tasting adventure.

Fantastic little cheese shop with so many different types of cheese. The staff here is very friendly and even let you sample the different cheeses if you’re not sure what you want. I’ve found so many delicious new cheeses that I didn’t even know existed before.
LOVE their Big John’s 14-​month aged white cheddar with Cajun rub, morel & leek jack, Red Dragon English cheddar with mustard & ale, and the Prairie Breeze white cheddar (just to name a few). Mmmmmmmm!

Cheese shops that stock a decent array of the more esoteric and truly pungent cheeses, especially of the French soft-​ripened variety, are much more rare than they ought to be, but Lodi’s Cheese Central fills the bill quite nicely. On my first (but not final!) visit I found Camembert Fermier; one or two «small batch,» red-​hot, jalapeño-​infused cheddars; and some very interesting-​looking Swiss cheeses — all of which, of course, I snapped right up. Outside of the Bay Area and the Napa Valley, it’s darned hard to find unusual gems like these! Samples are given generously by the shop’s staff, and Cindy, the store’s owner, will engage you in a friendly cheese-​related conversation for as long as you can match her obvious enthusiasm and range of knowledge. As others have noted, there are other picnic-​type items available here as well, including crackers and cured meats. Definitely worth a stop, especially for the cheese lover who has seen enough of the paltry and bland selections the supermarkets carry.

We had the opportunity to taste a wide variety of cheeses and they were all delicious. We will definitely be back!

I love cheese central! The staff is great and they can be so funny. Friday-​sunday are very busy so if they dont get to you right away just wait a minute its well worth it! The cheese is heavenly! Sometimes its so busy that they dont have some of samples YET! They usually cut another if they are not to busy. And THEY TASTE BLUES LAST lol! I just read a review about how one of the gals wouldnt give them a sample after tasting blues duh! Cause they taste them last. So if your going in for some cheese they do blues last so YOU DONT RUIN your pallet. Anyways! The cheese and staff are amazing ill be going back hungry for deliciousness and friendly service!

The cheese girl Ashley was rude when I asked if I could try a certain cheese she said they didn’t have a sample Funny how two minutes later the other lady offered her customers the exact cheese I wanted to sample. Also my friends wanted to try a Greek cheese and she refused because they had already tried a blue! Not your call Ashley! If a customer wants to try it let them! We bought some cheeses but we all agreed that we will be skipping this store next time

I’ve popped into this quaint little cheese shop twice now, while visiting form out of town, and I love it! Step further inside to browse the wide array of cheeses in the case and gladly accept samples of any of them! The staff is knowledgeable and helpful when it comes to suggesting a cheese to suit your tastes. On our more recent trip, we selected for purchase, three cheeses; a silky mushroom brie, a tangy cheddar and a smooth goats milk gouda. She gal checking us out happily wrapped up one of the cheeses with some wax paper and a plastic knife so that we could enjoy it at the neaxtdoor wine tasting — that is great service! I also found a few tea infused jams, like a Rooibos Chai, that I am eager to enjoy. Their shop has all sorts of dipping oils, crackers, and condiments for your next frou-​frou cheese tasting party or quiet indulgence. They even offer monthly classes and demos which sound like fun.

This is a seriously cool shop. I love all the different cheeses they have. They will let you try anything. I LOVE the 3 ¹⁄₃ year old cheddar. It has a nice strong cheddar flavor, bit is still amazingly creamy. I usually just cut it into small chunks, and my whole family eats it by itself. Staff is usually very friendly. Definitely, a great stop when wine tasting in the area.

If I could give 10 stars I would. I just absolutely love this place. Everyone I have encountered here has been so helpful and friendly, and I love the fact that you can sample and order as much or as little as you’d like. I love the mouse trap. I love the ideas they give you for recipes. I love the suggestions they provide based on your preferences. I basically love it all. Mostly, I admire that they love to get to know their customers and help them in their culinary journey at any level which makes me want to support them as not only a business, but as people. They are good people over at Cheese Central, but I cannot say I am surprised, because aren’t cheese people always good people?

How dare they put a cheese shop right next to a wine tasting! Going down this street is dangerous because you’re going to want to buy everything.
The staff here was fantastic and super patient with us when my group of 5 wanted to try pretty much every type of cheese. I can’t remember her name, but she let us try everything we wanted. She was also flexible in allowing us to buy specific amounts of cheese and would size them down if we wanted.
My favorite was the Havarti– a creamy, white cheese, which goes great with crackers! They also sell salami for 1.75 $. I ended up buying half a square of Havarti and also a cheddar cheese that tasted exactly like a baked potato. I think there were onions or chives, but either way, it was great.
Since these are fine cheeses, they’re pretty pricey. If you just buy small amounts of each, it’s easier on the bank… plus, you’ll get a larger variety!

I absolutely love this shop. We have so many favorites that they’re hard to list and Cindy and Karen are my two favorite people in that shop. They are friendly and kind and I love stopping in for a quick taste of something new when I’m downtown. Thank you Cheese Central for coming to Lodi. We needed you!

My wife and I had the pleasure to stop by two weeks ago on a Saturday. The staff was pleasant, kind, and friendly. Moreover, the two shop members we interacted with were very knowledgeable about cheese!!! Unlike other places we have shopped in the past, they offered samples of any cheese we wanted. We went home with two full bags of cheese and other goodies. Differently a great experience, which we will be looking forward to again soon.

If you love fine cheeses, this is heaven. They really, really know their stuff, and can tell you everything that you need to know to just try something new to throwing a cheese tasting party. They also have a very nice selection of crackers, random cured meats, jelly, and beer.
My favourite part; they are QUICK with the samples. They are more than happy to let you same anything in the store, along with giving you information on the origins of the cheese.
Seriously, just go. It is hard to leave without buying something. :)

Love this place. I love trying all the cheeses that are all so unique. And every one always so helpful. My only gripe is that I always end up spending more that I wanted lol!

Cheese store à la Française plutôt sympa.
Des américains souhaitaient me faire découvrir leur cheese store dont ils sont très fières, et c’était réussi!
La diversité des fromages présents dans ce magasin est très forte. On trouve bien sur du fromage Français mais aussi suisse, italien, américain (heureusement!), etc…
Le personnel est aimable, agréable, de bon conseils. Il est proposé de déguster chacun des fromages présents à la découpe.
Un rayon charcuterie est présent aussi, mais j’ai l’impression qu’il né fait pas d’émule, et c’est bien dommage car ça a l’air appétissant! Pâté, saucissons, etc…
En plus de proposer du fromage, le magasin propose en location des machines à raclette et à fondue. Ils conseillent sur le choix des fromages et sur la recette pour la fondue.
ATTENTION aux prix exorbitants ! Le fromage de ce genre est un luxe en Californie, et il faudra en payer le prix fort. Et ça, on en a pas l’habitude en France…

I think I died and went to Cheese Heaven.
This store is any Cheese lovers dream, Cheese — Check! Crackers — Check! Spreads — Check! Wine — Check! Even Olive Oil and Beer! And located in Lodi. say whaaat?
I’ve had my eye on this little store for some time and recently stopped in on another trip to Sacramento and what turned a somewhat gloomy day into a very happy one. My Husband and I have been hunting for some good Cheese since we moved to California 4 and a half years ago so were delighted when we found not one but three Cheeses we both liked in the space of just 10 minutes. I’m sure we could have found many more but there’s really only so many Cheese samples you can stomach in such a short space of time. The staff here are simply excellent, very knowledgeable and encourage you to sample as many of the offerings as possible.
Aside from being a Cheese Shop there are also food demonstrations held here along with Wine Tasting, this really is a hidden gem.

The short: Did you know there is a cheese shop in Lodi? Me neither?!
The long: I’ve wandered around downtown Lodi on a few different occasions, but apparently I never walked down the street far enough to stumble across the cheese specialty shop in Lodi. It’s a tiny little shop which is what you should expect for a town this size, but they have a nice selection of cheeses and specialty foods to compliment them. The staff is super friendly and willing to offer suggestions and offer suggestions. I keep meaning to come back in here, but to be honest I always forget about them I really wish they were somewhere I would see them more often.
What works: A cheese shop in Lodi!
What to improve: Get the word out you’re there

Loved it here! The staff here was so helpful and patient with us. We loved tasting all the cheeses and had a great experience. Lodi has a cute little old town and this business just adds to the overall experience.