Happily entrenched in a tranquil corner between State Street and the Capitol, there is an unexpectedly quaint Fromagination, Madison’s resident cheese artisans.

Owner and founder Ken Monteleone, who founded the business in 2007, said they try to highlight the importance of cheese while also showcasing Wisconsin’s rich cheese-making heritage.

But it is the manner in which Fromagination showcases said heritage that makes them a rare commodity within the crowded Wisconsin dairy marketplace.

“Customers could go to the local Walgreens, pick up what they want and leave,” Monteleone said. “At Fromagination, we gear everything towards the customer’s experience. Everything from the music to the smell adds to the essence of the shop and the customer’s journey to buying what we offer.”

Indeed, buying local dairy products with a backdrop of Jimi Hendrix music and smells of cheddar cheese and honey wafting through the air is very unlike a local Walgreens.

Add to that homely European-style architecture and personable staff, majority of whom are locals and college students with encyclopedic knowledge of the products on hand, and customers are sure to leave with a greater understanding of their purchases.

“Take this bottle of honey, for example,” Monteleone said. “This is the farmer’s handwriting that shows how many similar bottles were produced. We’re not ashamed of our prices because products like these are exclusive, personable and memorable.”

An astute metaphor, perhaps, for their customer service.

This is partly why Fromagination should not be ashamed of their prices, they are justified. If, however, at first glance, it isn’t clear the shop is not a run-of-the-mill, solely profit-intended business, their services extend well beyond the simple act of placing cheese behind glass displays.

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Fromagination offers classes on the history and culture of cheese and what wines to pair with them. They also offer “Cheesemongery,” where cheese experts provide delightful assortments before guests embark on cheese
“tours” to study the intricacies of the dairy product.

In addition, they try their best to buy from local or small business. Monteleone said it’s one of the ways they give back to the community. It is the constant process of contribution and giving back that keeps the business hungry.

There is a high likelihood the community will continue to embrace Fromagination, especially if the business continues their quiet, effective and non-profit driven donations to deserving charitable organizations — no to mention their passionate attempts at educating Madison residents about cheese.

“We receive countless messages from organizations asking about our donations,” Montelone said. “We’d love to help them all but we have certain guidelines.”

Guidelines include, but are not limited to, feeding or educating the economically challenged or promoting local food production organizations like “No Kid Hungry” and “Slow Food.”

Upon entering Fromagination, the customer notices the little things: the spicy smell of pepper jack cheese, the music transitions from Hendrix to Frank Sinatra and the staff, who are visibly interested in interacting with the customer.

There will, however, always be one constant at the heart of all the shop’s endeavors: “Cheese. Glorious Wisconsin Cheese” — as Fromagination’s website so succinctly puts it.