Mars Cheese Castle — Valhalla for Wisconsin tourists, Petra of sausage, Lourdes for dairy wonks — is an Interstate-94 icon, a store that draws you in with ostentation then overwhelms with its unflinching dedication to everything meat and cheese.
If you’ve driven to Milwaukee, it’s like they’re daring you not to stop in. The temptation is too strong. Its Wheel of Fortune-meets-'70s car dealership sign, standing 90-foot tall, appears from a distance and lures you to pull off the exit ramp. You do, then think to yourself, it’s no outlet, but a castle, so surely they’re protecting valuables inside. You walk in, and it’s row after row of bacon, beer, hot sauces, smoked and cured sausages. Here, cheese comes in curd, brick and football-shaped forms. For most men, it’s a knee-buckling sight.
After 64 years in the same Kenosha location, the Mars Cheese Castle closed its doors on Tuesday. When it reopens at 9 a.m. on Friday, March 4, it will have moved a few yards west to a new 24,000-square foot store. This time, it’s a real castle.
Features include natural stone floors, brick exteriors and a 35-foot tall watchtower that will house its wine department. Chains once used to moor large vessels simulate a drawbridge. There are no moats, however.
Construction began in July 2010, and was necessitated by Wisconsin’s I-94 widening project, which will eventually make the freeway four lanes in both directions. Phil Wehrmeister, a Mars co-owner, said building costs are in the “multi-million dollar” range. He said the bathrooms — two each for gentlemen and ladies — will be state of the art.
Cheese, bacon, beer, state of the art bathrooms? Say no more. March 4 can't come soon enough.
If you’ve driven to Milwaukee, it’s like they’re daring you not to stop in. The temptation is too strong. Its Wheel of Fortune-meets-'70s car dealership sign, standing 90-foot tall, appears from a distance and lures you to pull off the exit ramp. You do, then think to yourself, it’s no outlet, but a castle, so surely they’re protecting valuables inside. You walk in, and it’s row after row of bacon, beer, hot sauces, smoked and cured sausages. Here, cheese comes in curd, brick and football-shaped forms. For most men, it’s a knee-buckling sight.
After 64 years in the same Kenosha location, the Mars Cheese Castle closed its doors on Tuesday. When it reopens at 9 a.m. on Friday, March 4, it will have moved a few yards west to a new 24,000-square foot store. This time, it’s a real castle.
Features include natural stone floors, brick exteriors and a 35-foot tall watchtower that will house its wine department. Chains once used to moor large vessels simulate a drawbridge. There are no moats, however.
Construction began in July 2010, and was necessitated by Wisconsin’s I-94 widening project, which will eventually make the freeway four lanes in both directions. Phil Wehrmeister, a Mars co-owner, said building costs are in the “multi-million dollar” range. He said the bathrooms — two each for gentlemen and ladies — will be state of the art.
Cheese, bacon, beer, state of the art bathrooms? Say no more. March 4 can't come soon enough.
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