The Cheese Traveler has begun its soft opening. The cheese case is fully stocked with traditionally-made, complex-tasting cheeses from the US, Europe, and UK. All cheeses are cut-to-order, and we sample everything in the case. This month we are celebrating “American Cheese Month.” Buy a passport for $10 and get 20% off the featured domestic cheese of the day. The meat coolers are well-stocked with fresh and frozen organic heritage breed beef and pork. All cuts are available. Dry goods are arriving everyday and we already have some in: fine pasta, polenta, paella rice, risotto, demi-glaze and sauces, jam, mustards, chutneys, sea salt, olive oils, and vinegars. There are many more to come: fine chocolates, sodas, honeys, crackers, biscuits, gluten-free items, olives, spices, and fleur-de-sel, local lamb and chicken. We will soon be a place to find all the finest ingredients and specialty items you need for cooking traditional and modern recipes.

Our mission is to bring the customer handcrafted items that are produced locally as well as around the world. We share a taste experience with you by bringing the flavor of the locality to you. You can have the taste of your travels or where you wish to travel to in your own home. Soon to arrive are pastas, honey, and olive oil from the smallest pasta producer in the Abruzzo region of Italy, famed for its pristine water and flavorful grain. The climate, protected by mountains on all sides, supports a rich flora unparalleled in the world. The producer uses traditions passed down and perfected over hundreds of years, and through a small operation is best able to control the practices of production, thereby crafting a superior product. The French fleur-de-sel, which will arrive this week, is collected by a single Brittany salt collector who collects salt and dries it on his roof. These are the practices and environs that capture the terroir.

Our store hours are flexible this week. We are completing the finishing touches on the store, and when we are in the store, we are open for business. Follow us on twitter and facebook for up-to-the-minute hours of operation.

The store is very easy to get to. It is a minute from the end of 787 in Albany and exit #23 off the Northway I87. It is between the intersections of Rt 443 and McAlpin and Rt 9W.

next to All Good Bakers, The Yoga Loft, Mingle, and Nicole’s Bistro

Link to Google Maps