Murray's Cheese is expanding its specialty retail footprint into Charlotte for the first time, placing its cave aged collection across five Murray's kiosks inside Harris Teeter stores this fall — a regional debut that underscores the growing appetite for premium, affineur-finished cheese within the grocery channel.
The Collection
The launch encompasses six SKUs developed through Murray's in-house affinage program, where the company's caves team sources unmatured wheels from established creameries and finishes them in temperature- and humidity-controlled New York City caves. Five of the six cheeses in the lineup received honors at the 2026 American Cheese Society Judging & Competition Awards, one of the most competitive accolades in domestic artisan cheese. The assortment includes Cave Aged Reserve Cornelia (buttery cow's milk), Cave Aged Reserve Barnstorm Blue (raw milk washed rind), Cave Aged Reserve Hudson Flower (herb and flower-coated), Cave Aged Mini Greensward (spruce-wrapped, cider-washed), Cave Aged Reserve Carpenter's Wheel (Alpine-style goat), and Cave Aged Original Stockinghall Cheddar — named Best Cheddar and Best American Cheese at the World Cheese Awards.
"Our cheese caves allow us to experiment with flavor and be endlessly curious about cheese, and we are thrilled to bring exclusive new offerings to cheese lovers at Harris Teeter," said Nick Tranchina, President of Murray's Cheese. "With cheeses crafted by some of the finest cheesemakers in the U.S. and finished by our dedicated team, we hope to introduce customers to their new favorite cheese."
Retail Kiosk Strategy
Murray's operates cheesemonger-staffed kiosks inside more than 1,200 Kroger-banner stores nationwide — Harris Teeter has been a Kroger subsidiary since 2014, and Murray's joined the Kroger family in 2017. The in-store kiosk model is purpose-built to elevate the specialty cheese category beyond self-serve cases: trained cheesemongers guide purchases, host tasting events, and execute experiential retail formats including Parmesan wheel crackings and fondue samplings. That format aligns with broader grocery trends toward destination departments that drive basket size and repeat traffic in specialty food. Harris Teeter hosted Perfect Pairing launch events at all five Charlotte locations on August 27, giving shoppers direct access to Murray's affinage team.
Specialty Cheese in Grocery
The Charlotte rollout reflects a deliberate geographic expansion of the cave aged sub-line, which until now had limited regional distribution outside Murray's New York retail shops and e-commerce program. For Harris Teeter — which operates more than 250 stores across eight states and D.C. — the partnership positions its specialty food offering against competing banners investing in curated cheese programs. The specialty and artisan cheese segment has benefited from sustained consumer trading-up behavior in grocery, even as broader food-at-home spending faces pressure. Exclusive, award-recognized SKUs provide differentiation that is difficult for mass-market competitors to replicate quickly, a dynamic that gives regional chains a defensible premium lane. Operators sourcing cheese for restaurant menus or catering programs will also note the expanded regional access to Murray's proprietary aged inventory, which the company supplies to independent and chain restaurant accounts.
For grocers and foodservice buyers tracking specialty cheese distribution trends or premium ingredient sourcing, the Murray's–Harris Teeter expansion signals that in-store experiential retail formats tied to exclusive SKUs remain a viable strategy for category differentiation.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
