Leelanau Cheese Company in Suttons Bay
Leelanau Cheese Company
(231) 271-2600
Leelanau Cheese Company is a small artisan creamery in Suttons Bay that has been making cave-aged European-style cheeses from local Michigan cow’s milk since 1995.
They’re best known for their raclette and fromage blanc, and if you visit on a Tuesday you can watch the cheesemaking happen through a viewing window.
The Cheese Cave
Nickname: the Hobbit Abode.
This is where their raclette is aged. It’s a naturally cooled cave built to mimic traditional European aging caves. Inside, wheels are brined and then turned and washed by hand before entering a longer aging period.
During Cheese Fest, guided cave tours are usually availably. It’s one of the few times you can walk through the space where the cheese actually matures.
Leelanau Cheese Fest
Leelanau Cheese hosts an annual Cheese Fest at their Suttons Bay creamery.
It’s a full-day event that’s become one of Michigan’s more notable cheese celebrations. The 2026 date is set for June 6th.
The lineup is surprisingly deep for a single-creamery event. Past activities have included:
- guided tours of the creamery and cheese cave
- hands-on mozzarella-making workshops & a fromage blanc mix-your-own-flavor class
- chocolate and cheese pairings with Grocer’s Daughter Chocolate
- wine and cheese pairings and hard cider and cheese pairings
- a Hudsonville Ice Cream station
- Vendor market with cheese, dairy goods, and cheese-adjacent products from local farmers, artists, and vendors
Lots of kids activities show up too, like face painting, a petting area with farm animals, and of course, cheese experiences and competitions.
Some events are free; workshops are ticketed with limited space.
Other Interesting Tidbits
Fun random bits about Leelanau Cheese:
MSU connection: Current owners Gary Smith and Joshua Hall are MSU grads. Smith was a food safety expert and Hall was the head cheesemaker at the MSU Dairy Store before they took over Leelanau Cheese from the founders in 2021.
World-class raclette x2: Their raclette has won Super Gold at the World Cheese Awards twice (in 2016 – Spain & in 2023 – Norway).
Ice cream may be coming: They’re exploring adding ice cream to the lineup, drawing on their years of experience making it at MSU. No timeline confirmed, but we’re keeping a look out!
They’re on the Leelanau Wine Trail: It’s an annual Leelanau Peninsula Wine Trail Wine & Cheese event, where their raclette is paired alongside wines at wineries across the peninsula.
Also mentioned
Hey Michigan Event Calendar
