Tiny Store, Big Heart: Nelson Cheese Factory gets new owner, new name

When Ann Weix started working part time at Nelson Cheese Factory, then just a tiny cheese shop on Harding Ave., in 1987, it was only to make an extra buck while attending UW-Eau Claire. A friend of her mother ...

Bygone Brews: Chippewa Valley breweries & beers that are only on tap in the history books

The 151-year-old Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co. in Chippewa Falls and the more recent profusion of craft breweries in the Chippewa Valley aren’t the beginning and end of the region’s brewing history ...

Cheese Experts Sound Off

get to know some of the best cheese in the Valley from the local people that put in the work

Get to know some of the best cheese in the Valley from the local people that put in the work ...

The Basics of Beer

lagers, ales, and everything you need to know about your typical cold one

Wisconsin is a beer-loving state, for better or for worse, and with history older than Leinenkugel’s and new breweries coming up every year, the Chippewa Valley is definitely a hub within a hub ...

Eat, Drink, & Get Reading

Fuel your love of Wisconsin’s classic consumables with these and other books from The Local Store.

Wisconsin Grudge Match: Beer v. Cheese

Sure, beer is what made Wisconsin (or at least its biggest city) famous. But in nearly every objective category, our cheese industry overshadows brewing ...

What Makes Curds Squeak?

exploring the science behind Wisconsin’s favorite snack

There’s nothing like picking up a fresh, warm bag of cheese curds at the farmers market and getting that first squeaky bite. That squeak comes from a special way that long protein molecules in fresh cheese curds rub against your teeth ...

New Bill Would Ease Rules for Wisconsin's Small Brewers

Will Glass, founder of The Brewing Projekt in Eau Claire, knows all about the convoluted regulations that govern the production and sale of alcohol in Wisconsin. In fact, he wrestled with them for several years before finally opening his Eau Claire craft brewery and taproom in 2015 ...

Matches Made in Wisco Heaven

these Badger State cheese and beer pairings will send your taste buds to paradise

Loves of fine food and beverages in the Chippewa Valley know that The Coffee Grounds (4212 Southtowne Drive, Eau Claire) is far more than a coffee shop and café. At the Coffee Grounds, you’ll also find ...