The Cheese Cave, where Red Bank shoppers have gone for cheeses and specialty foods from around the world for more than a decade, will close at the end of the month.
Owner Stephen Catania, who opened the Monmouth Street store in 2011, said Wednesday, Aug. 31, will be its last day in business.
“The decision to close was not easy as it has been a fulfillment of a dream to be an entrepreneur and to do something that I have always loved — to serve people and bring them some joy through food,” he shared on social media. “I opened the shop with the mission to bring great cheese and service to the community. We strived to do that from the very first day we opened, and you embraced that mission.”
Catania, a Staten Island native who moved to Monmouth County in his teens, graduated from the French Culinary Institute in the mid-1980s. He worked as a line cook in a fine-dining restaurant in Morristown, quickly becoming sous chef, then executive sous chef and chef de cuisine.
Looking back:Cheese lovers find heaven in Red Bank’s Cheese Cave
Then came high-level culinary and management positions throughout the Northeast, followed by jobs with the Sheraton and Dolce International hotel chains. While working in Boston in 2009, he joined event space company Longwood Venues, where he introduced an artisan cheese shop.
“I’d always liked cheese, and the opportunity allowed me to delve into the cheese market and learn more about it,” Catania told The Asbury Park Press in 2018. “I felt like cheese was going to be the next big thing in the food world, and that it would be a niche business where I could really make my mark and use my skills and passion to deliver memorable experiences to customers.
“I love talking to people about cheese and being able to have a relationship with so many customers who support my business,” he said. “It tells me that we must be doing something right.”
This story contains information from a previous story.
Sarah Griesemer joined the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey in 2003 and has been writing all things food since 2014. Send restaurant tips to sg********@ga*******.com, and for more Jersey Shore food news, subscribe to our weekly Jersey Shore Eats newsletter.
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