I visit Mullins once or twice a year, and was just there this weekend. They have a great selection of cheeses and other products. Great hours & friendly, helpful staff.
However, they've switched over from traditional "squeaky" cheese curds to some kind of rectangle curds. The refrigerated curds are very nicely packaged but I must be a cheese curd snob because they weren't remotely tempting. I did get an order of the deep fried & they were fine...just not what I remember (the ranch dipping sauce was great though!). I think if you'd never experienced their old curds, you might not know what you're missing.
Still a great place to visit, especially if you want some local cheese or some soft serve!
Mullins home of the cheese curd is just down the road a bit. It is always a pleasure to shop in their store as they have so many cheeses and other delightful things to choose from.
Today I only bought a few things and these were my choices for the day.
Just okay. The cheese is good but there were no curds when we visited. The fried cheese curds were not great compared to those in many of the surrounding bars surprisingly.
Visited the new location for the first time today! Was surprised to see all of the different local products, samples and hot food they had to offer. Pricing was better than the competitors as well. Will definitely be coming back!
PS- They offer flavorburst soft serve!
This place is a MUST if you are in the area. Such a great selection with many different samples to try. Has a small Cafe which has phenomenal, soft cheese curds and onion rings!
Made the trip from Minocqua after reading the reviews about how great this place was! Not going to lie….BIG disappointment!
Was not impressed with the selection of cheeses or sausage choices. Curds we’re not fresh and pre-bagged in a large cold case. Selection of crackers was minimal at best.
On a positive note the store had friendly employees, the store was very clean, and we did order some deep fried curds which were excellent!
Sorry to say we will not be returning and drive the extra 20 minutes to Dairy State🧀
EDIT 5/6/23 -- Sadly, I am changing my 5 star review that I gave several years ago. If you are looking for fresh cheese curds, this is no longer a place to stop to satisfy your craving for squeaky deliciousness. Our recent trip is proof that a bigger store and bigger plant is not better.
Mullins Cheese was always a favorite stop for fresh, squeaky curds when we were headed to the Wausau area. We were Mosinee yesterday, and thought we'd end the day with some bags of fresh curds to munch on for the drive home.
We had been to the new store location at least a few times, and on those occasions the curds had been across from the checkout. On this trip they were located in a large open cooler at the south end of the building. No big deal, right? We picked up some packs of both white and yellow curds, and it was when I was looking at the weights (of course the kids want to get the biggest package, right?) that I noticed that the sell by date on the white curds was May 10 and the yellow was May 24. I thought that was a little odd -- wouldn't curds made today both have a similar sell by date? And why wouldn't white curds be fresh for more than a few days?
So I asked one of the check out ladies which curds had been made today.
"None of them." She then told me that all the curds were at least 1 1/2 to 2 days old, as they needed to pass their tests for bacteria before sale. I was dumbfounded, but thought I must have heard wrong, so I said, "you don't sell curds that were made this morning?" At this point, her tone implied that I was the idiot in this equation -- all curds have to pass the tests so they are safe to eat, State of WI blah blah food regulations blah blah listeria blah blah. (Yes, I heard the words she said, but I don't remember them verbatim and do not wish to put words into her mouth. Consider this my attempt to put a humorous spin on her words, because in truth her tone was rather rude. I am hoping that is the result of being asked 100s of times a day were today's curds are rather than that is just her normal demeanor.) She then told me they recommend heating them in the microwave if you want squeaky curds.
...right, lady, because my Impala just so happens to have a microwave hooked up in glove box. Don't we Wisconsinites all have a microwave console in our vehicles to heat those curds up to proper squeak levels to indulge our instant roadside cheese stand gratification? How foolish of me to have been hit with a sudden memory lapse of always doing that in my past, rather frequent, curd-in-automobile consumption experiences...
Just because I am that oh-so-naughty customer that expects to eat same day curds, I bought those two bags I originally picked up, and we did our taste testing in the parking lot. Did I waste money on cheese I suspected was a bit old to be a 'fresh' curd? Yes. Did I do it for research? You bet.
The bag of yellow curds were curd shaped. There was no squeak. (Upon returning home, this curd became a greasy puddle within 5 seconds in the microwave. To compare, curds from Mullins Cheese May 2022 and before required 15-20 seconds in our microwave, and retained their shape and texture while recapturing some of their original squeak.)
The bag of white cheese curds was not a curd at all. It looked like someone took a block of white cheddar, cut it into long strips, and put it in the bag. The cheese crumbled. (In the microwave at home, this 'curd' kept its shape during 30 seconds of heating and had minimal melting towards the center of the plate. There was no squeakiness, even when the curd was heated longer.)
I find it interesting that Mullins Cheese needs 2 days to put their curds out, but others like Nasonville, Westby, Rudolph, Union Star, and many more can have same day curds. What is lurking in the Mullins plant?
I guess I will just have to 'suffer' at other cheese stores, eating their "germy", fresh, same day curds. Hey, at least the SQUEAKS in those curds will be there to drown out my musings. Sounds like music to my ears!!!
We absolutely love this company + their store. Such friendly service. Clean facility and so many wonderful selections. We enjoyed the best cheese curds we've ever eaten while we watched a short video about the company and facility on the TV. We heard from other guests that these cheese curds are the Best of any. Thank you Mullins staff for such a wonderful experience. We will be back!
Love the new store!
Went there last Sunday and found out they moved their retail store just right across the street from the factory. Still at Cty Rd DB. Bigger store with more selections to choose from. The seating area located right by the entrance. There’s a little coffee bar by the registers. There are bathrooms also by the entrance.
Mullins Cheese is always our favorite cheese store. We always love their cheese curds; it’s the best!
