Store with 1,000 cheeses comes to Lake County

After Sunday night's Bears game against Green Bay, cheese may not be what suburbanites want to think about.

But a new store that opened in Lake County could make them feel better about the dairy product, if not the dairy state.

Wiscon Corp., a family-owned cheese manufacturing and processing company, announced the opening of Caputo Cheese Market in Lake Forest. The market offers nearly 1,000 cheese varieties from all over the globe - fresh mozzarella made on-site; fresh homemade sausage; deli meats, salads and sandwiches; as well as dry grocery items, such as pasta, spices and oils.

"It's very exciting to bring our passion for cheese to Lake Forest," said Natale Caputo, president of Wiscon Corp. and resident of Lake Forest. "With such a variety of unique cheeses from all over the world, there's something here for everyone," he said in a release.

The new Caputo Cheese Market is located in what used to be a small coffee shop known as Moncafe at 231 E. Wisconsin Ave. While it still serves Moncafe coffee, the store has expanded in size and selection.

The official grand opening event will take place Oct. 25. Members of the Caputo family will be in attendance to welcome guests and commemorate the store opening.

Melrose Park-based Wiscon Corp., owner of Caputo Cheese Market, was founded in 1978 by Rene and Pasquale Caputo. What started as a small retail cheese shop has expanded into a manufacturing and processing cheese business with more than 100 employees.

The company offers a full line of award-winning Caputo Fresh Mozzarella, as well as other fine cheeses including Parmesan, Romano and Asiago. The original Caputo Cheese Market is located in Melrose Park at the corner of North and 15th Ave. The son, Natale Caputo, now operates the family-owned company.

Wiscon Corp. encompasses numerous divisions including Caputo Cheese Boston, Caputo Cheese San Francisco, Caputo Food Service, Wisconsin Cheese and two Caputo Cheese Markets.