Cheese Please opens in USA Town Center
By Rachel King
Opelika Observer
The newest addition to the USA Town Center, Cheese Please, is now open for business.
With an assortment of over 14 Amish-made cheeses the shop owner LaGail Hodges said that she considers her store something new and different.
“There’s nothing like this around,” Hodges said. “Most places just have jewelry or just have crafts but we have that plus cheeses and jams.”
She had the idea to open a cheese shop three years ago when selling cheeses at craft shows.
“The cheese went over really well, and after I retired from being a registered nurse, I told my husband, I want a cheese shop,” Hodges said.
After the couple started looking for a storefront Hodges said she began to wonder if the Amish cheese they had been ordering was actually made by the Amish.
“It was a week after Christmas and my husband and I hopped in the RV and went to MiddleField, Ohio, and sure enough they were Amish,” Hodges said.
When space opened up at USA Town Center, Hodges said she jumped at the opportunity.
The showroom floor is large but among the various cheeses she also sells her hand-crafted jewelry, pillows and her granddaughter makes tiki torches out of wine bottles.
On Sept. 9 Cheese Please will be hosting its first wine tasting at 7 p.m. There will be five different types of wine each paired with a cheese. Guests will have the opportunity to learn which foods complement each wine and items will be available for purchase after the event.
Anyone wishing to attend should stop by the Cheese Please shop.
Wine tastings will be held once a month and can accommodate 15-20 people.
In the future, Hodges said she also hopes to hold craft fairs that will go through the weekend.
“There are a lot of things that we’ll be doing but one thing I can tell you is that if anyone tries my cheese they are going to love my cheese, plain and simple,” Hodges said.
The store is open Tuesday-Saturday 10 a.m.-7 p.m. and closed Sunday and Monday.