With two locations in the Hudson Valley, The Cheese Shops specialize in artisanal cheese and all the charcuterie board staples.

When Caroline Sansone, her husband Scott McGibney, and Erin Browning took over the Cold Spring Cheese Shop in March 2023, it felt serendipitous.

They had been looking to open a new business and, when they realized that the previous owners (who are also their friends) were looking for someone to take over the cheese shop, it seemed like an offer they simply could not turn down.

McGibney is no stranger to running a business. He’s owned Wyckoff Star, a coffee shop in Brooklyn, for many years, while Sansone’s background is in media and Browning’s is in the restaurant industry.

“Scott is the fixer, Erin is the creative, and I’m the bookkeeper. We all have our roles, and we work really well together,” Sansone shares.

Sansone is originally from Buffalo, while Scott is from Vermont. After living in Brooklyn for 15 years, they sought the greenery of upstate during the pandemic and landed in Newburgh in 2020. They quickly discovered the quiet, quaint gem that is Cold Spring and were immediately enamored.

“It’s the cutest place in the world,” Sansone enthuses. From there, they quickly befriended the former owners of the cheese shop, Timothy Haskell and Rebeca Ramirez, and the rest is history.

A local touch

One of the things that Cold Spring Cheese Shop has been dedicated to since its inception is focusing on Hudson Valley farms and sourcing products from New York State as much as possible.

Naturally, this was one of the biggest elements of the shop that its new trio of owners wanted to honor and maintain. As such, The Cheese Shops carry products from a wide range of farms in the area, including Chaseholm Farm in Pine Plains, Lively Run Goat Dairy in Interlaken, and McGrath Cheese Company in Hudson.

The owners aim to keep products as local as possible and often source from farms and providers in New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Massachusetts.

“We try to stay within the climate-conscious region. We don’t want products traveling too far to get to us,” Sansone explains.

The owners rely on staff for a lot of cheese recommendations as well, and they’ve built out a “network of cheese people” that they know and trust to point them in the right direction for new products.

“Our staff loves cheese, and they’ll come in and tell us about a favorite cheese that they’ve recently tried, and we’ll look into getting it for the store,” she shares. “Local farms can’t produce as much as large purveyors, so a lot of what we carry is seasonal depending on what they can produce.”

Since taking over, the trio has also expanded the daily sandwich offerings and started offering catering. Now, The Cheese Shops stock a wide selection of cheese boards, sandwich boards, and pick-up lunch ordering. In addition to all of the cheeses in the front counter, visitors can also find all of their cheese and charcuterie board needs on the shelves, including local jams and honey, crackers, meats, and other goodies.

Clearly, the selection is working, as The Cheese Shops won the best “Cheese Shop” category in Hudson Valley magazine’s Best of Hudson Valley Awards in 2023 and 2024.

Cheese breeds community

One of the things the owners are most proud of is their staff at The Cheese Shops.

“When you come in, you’re able to talk to our staff and say, ‘This is what I usually like and this is what works for me,’ and they’re able to recommend whatever you’re looking for. They can give you recommendations on what will push your palate a bit, what cheese goes with what jam, or how much cheese you’ll need for a party. They’re incredibly knowledgeable,” Sansone says.

None of the workers at The Cheese Shops are required to undergo any kind of special training, but they do participate in as much cheese tasting as possible, and many members of the staff do their own research and come into work with their own suggestions and ideas.

“There are places that don’t want customers to see the people behind the counter trying things, but our philosophy is that you can’t learn without trying it,” she notes. “The more you taste, the more you know.”

Sansone’s favorite part about working at The Cheese Shops is intersecting with the customers and talking to people from all walks of life. She notes that now that the three owners are settled and have more of their processes nailed down, they can begin to experiment and think ahead.

“We can start being more imaginative about what we can offer and what we want to make,” she observes.

Expanding to Beacon

Like with their first location, Sansone describes their expansion to Beacon as “fate.”

“The owner of the Beacon Pantry and I had a conversation about us purchasing some of their equipment, and it evolved into a conversation about us potentially expanding into the space,” Sansone explains. “It was one of those things where we were like, ‘Why not?’”

Sansone notes that each location requires a bit of a different touch. Beacon, she says, has been incredibly welcoming.

“The Beacon Pantry was there for 10 years, and we came into their space and are doing something similar yet different. Everyone has been incredibly supportive and welcoming,” she says.

She also shares that the community in Cold Spring is small yet mighty. The business community especially is very tight-knit and constantly working with one another to improve commerce in the village and promote collaboration.

What’s next for The Cheese Shops?

“Global cheese domination on the local scale,” Sansone laughs. “But really, long term we’d love to have a local cheese shop in many towns. Right now, what we really want to do is expand our catering offerings, our online presence, and improve our quick order and pickup. Our biggest goal is to bring good food and provide good service to these locations.”

Visit The Cheese Shops in Cold Spring at 104 Main Street, in Beacon at 378 Main Street, or online at www.thecheeseshops.com.

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