Wilson’s Cheese Shoppe Celebrates 85 Years in Business
Since 1939, people have sought out Wilson’s famous Pinconning Cheese for nutritious and delicious cheese handcrafted from the milk of grass-fed cows. Our cheese was free of gluten, rBGH, and antibiotics long before health food was fashionable.
This year, as Pinconning celebrates the annual Pinconning CheeseTown Challenge Race & Festival June 21-22, 2024, Wilson’s celebrates its 85th year as a family-owned business in Pure Michigan. Our hometown business is steeped in family tradition and small-town entrepreneurship.
It all began in 1915 when Dan Horn, a Russian immigrant who resided in Pound, Wisconsin and a cheesemaker by trade, moved to Pinconning and created our signature item, Old-Fashioned Pinconning Cheese. The Horn family built a cheese factory and opened the Horn Grocery Market next door, on old US-23 (now M-13) in Pinconning.
In 1939, Dan’s daughter, Inez and her husband, Lawrence Wilson, bought the grocery store. Inez and Lawrence came up with the idea of specializing in all kinds of cheese and Wilson’s Cheese Shoppe was born. By 1941 the Wilson’s outgrew the small grocery store and built a new, much larger building directly across the street from the original shop.
Over the years, the store has changed hands and expanded its offering to include specialty meats and fish, gourmet sweets, Michigan wines and spirits, and much more. It took its current form in 1958 with more building additions. A few years later, in 1965, the famous Wilson’s Cheese giant mouse mascots were made. One, named Inez, was placed on the building. The other, named Ginny after Inez’s daughter and then business partner, Virginia (Ginny) Peacock, was placed on a trailer and paraded all over the state.
During the 1940s and 1950s, Inez noticed more and more people traveling on the newly paved road, US-23, through Pinconning to destinations Up North on the sunrise side of the state, and began marketing and promoting our signature product, Pinconning Cheese, throughout the state and was the driving force for convincing the state government to designate the City of Pinconning as the “Cheese Capital of Michigan.”
Through all the changes, Wilson’s has never strayed from the heart of our family-owned business. We ship hundreds of types of fresh, natural cheese around the USA. In addition to classic cheeses, we also serve artisan imported cheeses, homemade cheese spreads, creamy fudge, savory smoked fish and meats, specialty condiments, baked goods, craft beers, Michigan wines, spirits, gifts, specialty candies for the kids, and more. You can stop in and enjoy our many specialty products and samples and also shop online at www.WilsonCheese.com
So, sit back, relax, and browse our online catalog. We’ll deliver the snacks directly to your door, or you can stop in and see us on your way north! We hope the next 85 years will be as successful as the past 85 years and very much appreciate your continued support and patronage!
