For most of its 56 years, the Cheese Store of Beverly Hills has been operated by one man. Sure, Colonel Sigmund Roth opened the venture in 1967, but it was Norbert Wabnig who turned it into a slice of gourmet heaven. Since 1978, Wabnig has been presiding over the small shop on Beverly Dr., offering pairing suggestions for dinner parties and selling charcuterie, crackers, caviar, truffles, wine, sweets, and all manner of fancy foodstuffs. After 45 years, he's hanging up his cheese knife.
Norbert sold the store to his longtime employee and friend, Dominick DiBartolomeo. "I literally knew nothing. I knew Parmigiano Reggiano; I had no idea what pecorino meant," says DiBartolomeo about taking a job at the store when he was a pre-med student at the University of Southern California. Following his interest in food, he committed to learning about ten different cheeses a week, and eventually made his way through the several hundred cheeses that the store sold.
He recently moved the shop to a spot a few blocks away, on Santa Monica Blvd. At 5,000 square feet, the new location is significantly larger, allowing DiBartolomeo to offer an expanded selection of imported Italian foods as well as a new menu of takeaway sandwiches, salads, and sides.
Under new ownership, Dominick DiBartolomeo moved the Cheese Store of Beverly Hills to a 5,000 square foot space on Santa Monica Boulevard. Photo courtesy of The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills.