Cheese store closes in King

By Robert Cloud

After 32 years, Cheesie Bob is closing shop.

Bob Gruenenfelder, whose Cheesie Bob’s Bleu Cheese House has been a fixture in King, says even many of his longtime customers don’t know his last name.

His customers are why Gruenenfelder has remained in business for more than three decades.

“I like talking to people, finding out about their families,” he said. “I have people who come in here and say they used to buy candy here when they were kids.”

Gruenenfelder said he kept the store small, more like stores from the 1940s and ‘50s, where customers and clerks spent time speaking with each other.

“I try to keep it local and friendly,” Gruenenfelder said. “I like to shoot the bull with people.”

Cheesie Bob’s last day of business was July 26.

“The building is sold,” he said, noting that closing was scheduled for July 27.

He did not know the new owner’s plans for the building.

Gruenenfelder said he was born in a cheese factory.

“My father was from Switzerland. He was a cheesemaker,” he said.

When Gruenenfelder opened his store, he did not have a license for beer or liquor.

It took several years, but he eventually obtained a liquor license from the town of Farmington.

To get the permit, Gruenenfelder was not allowed to sell any groceries other than cheese.

“A couple of years later, every Tom, Dick and Harry got a liquor license,” he said.

Gruenenfelder said he and his wife have a motor home and plan to travel.

“We plan on seeing some more of the wild west,” he said.