navigation search the cheese store of beverly hills type private founder norbert wabnig headquarters 34 04 14 n 118 21 27 w 34.07053 n 118.357515 w 34.07053 ; 118.357515 coordinates 34 04 14 n 118 21 27 w 34.07053 n 118.357515 w 34.07053 ; 118.357515 beverly hills california u.s. products gourmet foods most notably cheese owner norbert wabnig website www.cheesestorebh.com inside the cheese store of beverly hills in 2015 . the cheese store of beverly hills is a gourmet foods store in beverly hills california known for its selection of 500 600 cheeses . 1 it also stocks wines and other delicacies including the rarest of all caviars golden imperial osetra 1 and is often featured in publications such as bon app tit 2 and entrepreneur magazine 3 as a notable epicurean source . the store claims to carry the largest assortment of goat s and sheep s milk cheeses found anywhere . 4 the store s owner norbert wabnig has become a noted los angeles personality . the store housed in a refurbished 1920s brick building has supplied many of los angeles high end restaurants past and present including wolfgang puck s spago valentino s patina and bar marmont as well as las vegas bellagio hotel . 5 contents 1 history 2 products 3 owner 4 in popular culture 5 awards 6 references 7 external links history edit the beverly hills branch of cheese shop international an east coast based franchise 6 was founded in 1967 by colonel sigmund roth . 5 in 1978 after a few years of the colonel s declining health norbert wabnig who had worked at the store by day while pursuing his music career at night purchased the business and changed its name to the cheese store of beverly hills . he transformed the store s feel from one of an upscale chain store to the more european style that it retains today . 7 wabnig has often stated that he likes the community aspect of the store which often hosts wine tastings . as a way of recognizing the producers of handmade specialty foods from whom he sources his products in 2004 wabnig founded the american artisanal treasure awards . awards are presented for best cheese best olive oil and best condiment . 8 in 2005 the store introduced its house wine scoundrel a cabernet bottled by sylvester vineyards in paso robles california . wabnig s daughter talia designed the label . 7 products edit because of its epicurean nature the cheese store of beverly hills has been known to carry hard to find and high end ingredients which over the years have included austrian pumpkin seed oil fresh truffles in season varieties of french butter various kinds of russian caviar golden imperial osetra and sevruga french and spanish hams italian prosciutto and 25 varieties of extra virgin olive oil . 5 as part of the store s environmental ethos customers are encouraged to bring their own bottles which are then filled with olive oil . 9 owner edit born in vienna austria on august 11 1948 norbert wabnig and his family moved to new orleans in 1955 but returned during summers to vienna where he apprenticed in the kitchen of his uncle franz blauensteiner s restaurant gausthaus au stadt paris a popular spot for celebrities such as oskar werner and klaus maria brandauer . 5 after graduating from the university of new orleans wabnig moved to los angeles to pursue a music career with his band wendell nightfall troupe . to support himself wabnig took a job at what is now the cheese store of beverly hills which he later bought in 1978 . 7 wabnig travels the world in search of cheeses for the store . 10 he is a member of the american cheese society and often assists top culinary schools including the cordon bleu program at the california school of culinary arts and the new school of cooking with cheese courses . 10 wabnig and ruthie grahm composed the theme song for the los angeles chapter of meals on wheels . 11 in popular culture edit eat drink or die . wabnig hosted a cheese of the day video series for the popular epicurean website . 12 in 2007 wabnig appeared on the history formerly the history channel series modern marvels as a cheese expert . awards edit received 2 leaf ranking 13 from greenopia los angeles as a distinguished business for 2008 2009 . voted best cheese shop in los angeles in 2007 and 2008 and 2009 by myfoxla . 14 awarded the best gourmet food store by editors and readers for los angeles edition of the best of citysearch website poll in 2006 and 2007 . 15 rated 1 overall 1 for cheese and 1 for beverly hills by zagat every year from 1997 2001 . in zagat s 1999 2000 survey it was one of only two food sources to receive a score of 29 points . 16 los angeles magazine listed the store in its best of la 1996 . 16 references edit a b yoshino kimi 2008 03 28 . munchies fit for a king . los angeles times . retrieved 2009 05 26 . great grating cheeses . bon app tit . 2008 02 19 . retrieved 2009 05 26 . 20 palate pleasing holiday wines . entrepreneur . 2007 11 16 . retrieved 2009 05 26 . about us . the cheese store of beverly hills . retrieved 2009 05 26 . a b c d christy george october 2008 . george christy visits norbert wabnig the big cheese . beverly hills design & lifestyle . pp. 24 28 . access date requires url help greenhouse steven 1998 01 01 . french and swiss fight about tainted cheese . new york times . retrieved 2009 05 26 . a b c norbert wabnig the austrian cheese guru of los angeles . austrian consulate general . january february 2008 . retrieved 2009 05 26 . the cheese store of beverly hills announces recipients of third annual american artisanal treasure awards press release . prweb . 2007 05 03 . retrieved 2009 03 24 . simmons steve . courier business profile the cheese store . the beverly hills courier . retrieved 2009 05 26 . a b the cheese store of beverly hills presents norbert wabnig s cheese course 101 . odeo . 2007 06 26 . retrieved 2009 05 26 . dead link devore kim 2008 11 26 . malibu seen . the malibu times . retrieved 2009 05 26 . norbert wabnig cheese expert . eat drink or die . retrieved 2009 05 26 . business listing . greenopia . retrieved 2009 05 26 . cityvoter hot list . myfoxla.com . retrieved 2009 05 26 . best of citysearch . citysearch . retrieved 2009 05 26 . a b business listing . thelek.com . retrieved 2009 05 26 . external links edit official website retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title the cheese store of beverly hills & oldid 743494011 categories landmarks in los angelescompanies based in beverly hills californiaretail companies established in 1967cheese retailers1967 establishments in californiabuildings and structures in beverly hills californiadairy organizationsfood retailers of the united stateshidden categories pages using citations with accessdate and no urlall articles with dead external linksarticles with dead external links from october 2010coordinates not on wikidata navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more 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