Have You Ever Been To The Mars Cheese Castle In Wisconsin?
The state of Wisconsin is known as the Badger State, and America's Dairyland. Growing up in Minnesota, my family always called Wisconites 'cheese heads', but did you know there's a Cheese Castle in Wisconsin?
We have our lakes and Wisconsin has their cheese. However I can't believe I was today years old when I found out there is actually a Cheese Castle in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Their Facebook page even claims they are the #1 tourist destination in Wisconsin. According to Tripadvisor, it's the Harley Davidson Museum, but that's besides the point. Not only do they have over 1,000 cheeses from cheddar to natural artisan cheeses, they even have unique flavors like chocolate cheese fudge. They also have meats, a bakery, a fresh deli, Wisconsin kinck-knacks and gifts, a full service kitchen, and even a tavern where they claim to serve the best Bloody Mary's on the planet.
According to Visit Kenosha, Mario and Martha Ventura opened a cheese shop in a renovated schoolhouse in 1947 that featured a large beer bottle on top. Unfortunately, it was destroyed by a fire ten years later. The original logo was even designed by a local Kenosha artist, George Pollard. The building was then rebuilt where it became an iconic business and thrived for five decades before it had to be rebuilt again due to a Highway expansion on Interstate 94. You can check out an informational video of the history below:
Rebuilt it, they did as they decided to truly go for the castle fit for a cheese king. The rebuild was over twice as large as the previous building. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel called it "Wisconsin's most visible cheese interchange". The Food Network's Sandwich King, Jeff Mauro even ranked the Mars Cheese Castle's Grilled Cheese in his top eight sandwiches in the country:
According to their Wiki page, the castle has had numerous celebrity visitors:
- Al Hirt, American trumpeter and bandleader
- Al McGuire, former National Champion Head Coach for Marquette University men's basketball
- Former President John F. Kennedy
- Current President, Joe Biden made a stop during the 2012 campaign
- Johnny Cash, the man in black himself
- The band Weezer even had a record signing at the castle in 2001:
The Cheese Castle is open 9am-7pm everyday and is located at 2800 West Frontage Road in Kenosha. I may be lactose intolerant, but cheese is life and I'm definitely putting this on my bucket list.
'Abnormal Voyages' recently visited the Castle. If you haven't heard of them, they depict themselves as:
Voyages into the off-beat, quirky, and unusual things in this wonderful world of ours. Covering everything from hidden gems and museums to specialty food dishes and colorful characters! Come tag along for the adventure!
You can check out their voyage down below: