Who is Venissimo? Venissimo was founded by Gina & Roger Freize in San Diego, California, in 2003. But it almost never opened! The owner of the retail space was not interested in leasing a little wedgie to an unknown business in an unknown industry (who wants to buy just cheese?). After spending more than four months faxing reasons to let Venissimo in, Gina overheard that the owner would be at the site on a certain day. So she snuck in with a cheese plate to let the product & presentation speak for itself. Needless to say, the owner was convinced & agreed to the deal the very next day! And roughly three years later, in September 2007, Venissimo opened its second location in Del Mar.
Venissimo's mission is to do for cheese what Starbucks® did for coffee! They will do that by sharing the goodness & glory of cheese. Literally. When you visit the shop, you can taste absolutely anything you like. Our friendly cheeseheads and descriptive receipts (complete with pronunciations, country of origin, milk type & more) aim to take the intimidation out of artisinal cheese shopping. "Someday, camembert will be as well-known as cappuccino," says Cheese Wiz Gina.
When in San Diego or Del Mar, stop by & say hi to everyone:
- Gina - President, Cheese Wiz & Baroness of Boschetto
- Roger - Vice President, Junior Cheese Wiz & Emperor of Epoisses
- Allisen - Assistant Manager of Mission Hills & Temptress of Taleggio
- Samantha - Manager of Del Mar & Sister of Saint Agur
- Michele - Assitant Manager of Del Mar & Prima Donna
- Alexis - Elfin in Ewephoria
- Bianca - Senorita de Arina
- Noel - Tamer of Triple Creme
- Brooke - Minx of Memoire
Take a look at our latest monthly Cheese Chat Newsletter, where we announce new arrivals, list tasting events & offer excellent food & wine pairing suggestions. And check out what some other publications have to say:
As a company comitted to our community and social consciousness, below are a few organizations we've donated to:
We are members of the American Cheese Society & regularly carry cheeses from the following domestic cheesemakers:
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