mars cheese castle in kenosha, wisconsin
Some people eat cheese. Others make it. Still others sell it. And some, like the Ventura family, honor it with a magnificent roadside castle. Since 1957 the Mars Cheese Castle has proudly dispensed a wide selection of cheese and related products to travelers looking to take home a memento of their journey through Wisconsin. Originally opened as a gas station in 1947, Mars Cheese Castle eventually grew to become the largest, oldest, showiest purveyor at the junction of 1-94 and Wisconsin Highway 142, a spot once dubbed “Wisconsin’s most visible cheese interchange” by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The store was named not after the planet but after the original owner, Mario Ventura Sr., though this detail hasn’t stopped the venue from incorporating a small touch of outer space into its castle motif.
In 2011, plans to widen I-94 forced Mars Cheese Castle to abandon the storefront it had used for over 50 years. Rather than mourn the loss of their beloved fortress, the proprietors used the opportunity to update the store’s image. Whereas the turrets on the former building’s facade merely suggested a castle, the new, larger store, outfitted with a drawbridge and a watchtower, is an abode truly fit for a king (of cheese). In exchange for its willingness to relocate, the state agreed to allow Mars Cheese Castle to keep its iconic sign, which, at 80 feet tall, violates current height restrictions for signs along the interstate.
Though cheese is, of course, the main attraction, Mars Cheese Castle also sells a variety of food items, and cheese-themed knick-knacks, including the state’s most essential souvenir, the famed Wisconsin cheese-head hat.
Mars Cheese Castle’s iconic sign stands 80 feet tall
—
“how can anyone govern a nation that has
two hundred and forty-six different kinds of cheese?”
-charles de gaulle
–
credits: atlas obscura
No matter how you slice it, Mars Cheese Castle seems to be an outta this world place.
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🧀
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No holes in this post, Beth. The Mars folks have something for Swiss lovers right there in the American Midwest. I think it’s a Gouda stop to stretch the legs and pick up a wedge and a hat!
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You are very punny
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I can’t help myself, Beth. Your work brings it out in me.
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😸 I still feel like a mean teacher
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Mean you will never be, Teach.
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Been there many times – stopped last year on my way home after a Brewers game – we were overwhelmed with choices – we ended up with three different cheeses – the best were the cheese curds. Yum. Five more days of break….
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Oh, I want to go! Enjoy your break, j am back today )
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LOL. Everyone seems to have covered the jokes. This was fun to know that a place like this is out there!!
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I think so too )
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Happy to know, i am not a ‘cheese’ fan though. Having said that, i wouldn’t mind visiting it 🙂
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It still might be an interesting experience for you)
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Heaven. You know the most useless and profane sentence in the human experience, beth? “That’s too much cheese.”
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Very true 🧀
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Here’s one more pun for you (a bilingual one at that!): Fromage of my life, I’ve enjoyed eating cheese.
Nice little post, Beth, the capper being the DeGaulle quote.
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I thought he had an interesting take on cheese and politics)
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In Kenosha, just over the border from Illinois. I haven’t been there, but I know the area.
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ah, maybe a short road trip for you in the future ?
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Wouldn’t be so short; it’s about 800 miles from Atlanta. 🙂
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Well, from a global perspective maybe ?
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Maybe… XD
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That’s a pretty cool looking place..:)
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i love interesting and eccentric tourist attractions.
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say…CHEESE!!!!!!
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there is even vegan cheese!
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What? When? So excited! If you’re on a dairy/gluten-free diet, like I am, and in the mood for a grilled cheese, it’s nice to know there’s “dairy-free-cheese-type-food” at Mars Cheese Castle. Otherwise, my grilled cheese will just be grilled toast.
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all kinds of options )
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thank, heavens…because real cheese murders calves…and calves are precious living beings…and so are their mommies…
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Go for the vegan)
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I really would like to go there!! I love cheesey places!
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me too, colleen –
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Oh my goodness! This is awesome, humorous and fascinating, Beth! 🙂 😀
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doesn’t it sound great on so many levels ?)
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You are so right, Beth: on so, so many levels!
I might want to take pictures or have a hidden video camera of the actual tourist clientele. Wouldn’t it be interesting? I would pay money and eat popcorn sprinkled with mozzarella on it, while watching this film!! 😀
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Even though I was born a Chicago Bears fan, I’ve always wanted a cheese-head hat!
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me too, they are so fun!
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You just added another item to my bucket list. Thank you!
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This would be such a fun one, I think )
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Your post on the Christmas Book Flood last year inspired our trip to Iceland last month. We left home with backpacks and came home with two extra bags to carry books and sweaters. We are already planning out next trip back so we can find all the Yule Lads.
Thanks for the inspiration!
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That is so great! It is high on my list of places to visit!
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Beth–you will love it, perhaps as much as Ireland. The people are so warm and friendly and happy. You can’t help but join in the fun.
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So good to hear 😺
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And that’s not counting the various nut cheeses!!! 😉
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Yes!
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I bought a 10 year aged cheddar there that was out of this world!
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wow –
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