Why Is Plymouth the Cheese Capital of the World?

Drive into Plymouth on East Mill Street and an arch tells you where you are: the Cheese Capital of the World. TMJ4 dated the slogan to the 1920s, and the reason behind it is still working: big cheese companies run plants and offices in and around town, and estimates of how much of America's cheese passes through Plymouth run from 10% to 15%.

This page explains where the nickname comes from, what a visitor can see and taste today, and when the town throws its cheese parties.

Why Plymouth is the Cheese Capital of the World

Plymouth's claim rests mostly on trading and processing, from the Cheese Exchange to the big manufacturers. Tasting Table, in 2024, put the figure at 14% of the cheese consumed nationwide, and Islands, in May 2026, estimated 10% to 15%.

In a 2021 TMJ4 report, Tracy Foss put it as around 15 percent of the cheese consumed in the U.S. moving through Plymouth. The figures differ by source, so treat them as estimates rather than an official count.

The companies are real and local. Tasting Table lists Sartori, founded in 1939, Sargento, established in 1953, Masters Gallery Foods, operating since 1974, and Great Lakes Cheese, whose Plymouth plant dates to 1982. Islands names Sargento, Masters Gallery and Sartori as operating in or near the city.

The scale shows in the staff numbers Tasting Table reported in 2024: Sartori employed 40 licensed cheesemakers, Masters Gallery 14 licensed cheese graders, and Great Lakes Cheese more than 4,000 people company-wide. None of the big plants run public tours that we could confirm, so the visitor side of the story is downtown.

A short history of cheese in Plymouth

Tasting Table dates the town's first cheese company to 1863, founded by Hiram Conover. By 1918 Plymouth was the center of the Wisconsin Cheese Exchange.

The exchange stood at 12 South Milwaukee Street, which is where Antoinette, the town's fiberglass Holstein, stands now. The slogan Cheese Capital of the World has been in use since the 1920s, according to the 2021 TMJ4 report, while Tasting Table puts the title in the 1930s.

The history is mostly told in town through the exhibits and the cow, so the next sections are about those.

The Cheese Capital of the World arch

For a photo of the arch, park on a side street and walk up rather than stopping on Mill Street.

From the arch, walking west along Mill Street takes you past the arts center to the cheese shop in the heart of downtown, about 0.3 mile away.

Cheese Counter and Dairy Heritage Center

The Cheese Counter and Dairy Heritage Center at 133 East Mill Street is the one stop that covers both sides of the nickname: it sells cheese and tells the story. Its listing describes Wisconsin-made cheeses, dips and spreads, curds such as Henning's Two Tone Cheddar and Garlic & Dill, and named cheeses such as Sartori MontAmore Cheddar and Masters Gallery 5 Year Aged Cheddar.

The deli counter makes grilled cheese sandwiches, including versions with jalapeno peppers, and the shop puts together cheese gift boxes. An interactive touch-screen exhibit covers the history of cheese in Plymouth.

The center opened in 2017, according to TMJ4's 2021 report, which gave its hours then as 11 am to 4 pm, closed Sundays and Tuesdays. Those hours are several years old, so confirm them before you go.

With an hour to spare in Plymouth, start here, then browse the other Mill Street stops in shopping in Plymouth.

Antoinette the cow

Antoinette is a fiberglass Holstein about 20 feet tall including her pedestal, weighing around 1,000 pounds, at 12 South Milwaukee Street. She was unveiled in 1977 as The Cow and renamed Antoinette after a makeover in 1992, according to Tasting Table.

She stands on the old Wisconsin Cheese Exchange site, so the photo doubles as a history lesson. Islands, in 2026, listed Antoinette among the dairy-heritage landmarks on private tours.

Antoinette's Casual Dining on West Mill Street shares the name, and its menu has pizza, pulled pork mac and cheese and cheese bread. No source we found says whether the restaurant was named after the cow.

Where else to buy cheese in Plymouth

Schwaller Meats on Eastern Avenue is a butcher shop that also carries cheese, smoked fish, local maple syrup and Seroojy bars, about a third of a mile east of the center of town.

Tietz's Piggly Wiggly on Eastern Avenue, about 0.8 mile east, is the full grocery store, with a deli, a bakery and Boar's Head meats and cheeses.

In season, the Plymouth Farmers Market meets at Stayer Park on Thursdays from 3 to 6 pm, with local honey, apple cider syrup and produce. Its listing does not name cheese vendors, so treat it as a bonus rather than a cheese run.

The rest of the town's kitchens, from German suppers to drive-in burgers, are covered in restaurants in Plymouth.

Murals and the Cheese Capital Wine Walk

Cheese is not the only thing painted on Plymouth's walls. Tasting Table counted 30 vintage-style murals downtown in 2024, most painted in 2011 and touched up in 2021, and the town calls itself the Mural Capital of Wisconsin. Islands, in May 2026, reported that the Walldogs mural walk was the city's top-rated attraction on Tripadvisor.

The murals are downtown, so the walk from the arch to the cheese shop doubles as a mural walk.

In August, the Cheese Capital Wine Walk pairs local cheeses with wine, and ticket holders get a collectible glass and visit participating downtown shops and venues, according to Tasting Table. Dates and the list of stops change each year, so look for the current year's details before you buy.

A cheese day in Plymouth, on foot

Downtown is about eight blocks long, roughly a 10-minute walk end to end, according to Islands, so a cheese day needs no car once you have parked.

Start at the arch at the east edge of downtown on Mill Street, then walk west about 0.3 mile to the Cheese Counter for a tasting and a grilled cheese at the deli. Antoinette stands just off Mill Street on South Milwaukee Street, on the old Cheese Exchange site.

Finish with supper at Antoinette's Casual Dining on West Mill Street, about 0.1 mile west of the center of town, where the cheese bread is on the menu. Bring a cooler bag in the car if you plan to take cheese home on a warm day.

The Cheese Capital Festival

The town turns the nickname into a party each June. The fourth annual Cheese Capital Festival ran on Friday, June 26 and Saturday, June 27, 2026. Friday brought a procession of Road America Trans Am cars, and Saturday had a cheese-themed parade at 10 am, a cheese-eating contest, live music and a foam cheese wedge race in the Mullet River with a $1,000 grand prize.

Families had face painting, a balloon artist, a cow petting zoo and a farm-themed playground, and parking was on city streets along and north of Mill Street. Out at the track, the same weekend was Road America's Cheese Capital Cup featuring Trans Am SpeedTour, on June 26 to 28, 2026.

The festival is young. CBS58 announced the first Cheese Capital Festival for June 23 and 24, 2023, which makes 2026's edition the fourth.

Watch the chamber's events page for next June's dates, and pair a festival day with Road America if the Trans Am weekend lines up again.

The other big downtown day is in July, when the Mill Street Festival closes the whole of downtown to vehicles.

Is the cheese worth the trip?

Be clear about what you are coming for. Plymouth's cheese industry is mostly working plants and offices, not visitor centers, so the parts a visitor can see are the arch, the Cheese Counter, Antoinette, the murals and the festivals.

That is a good half day on its own, and a better full day with something else attached.

On a race weekend, Road America is about 3.9 miles north of downtown.

The dirt track at the fairgrounds is closer still, about 0.6 mile east.

The Big Cheese Drop on New Year's Eve

Plymouth ends the year with a cheese drop, which Tasting Table describes as a New Year's Eve event at the Plymouth Arts Center with cheese tasting, a bonfire and live music. Travel Wisconsin's listing for the arts center calls it the Sartori Big Cheese Drop.

The arts center runs events all year, from a jazz crawl in August to a holiday art fair in November. Its galleries and calendar are the subject of the Plymouth Arts Center.

Beyond cheese, the town has trails, lakes and a racetrack, all part of a full day of things to do in Plymouth.