Cheese Whiz Tia Keenan Joins Murray's Wine/Cheese Bar

Rob Kaufelt, owner of Village staple Murray's Cheese, is bringing in the big guns for his now confirmed wine and cheese bar in the former Bar'rique space at 264 Bleecker St. Reps reveal that Tia Keenan, the cheese obsessive who made a name for herself at Caselulla over in Hell's Kitchen, has been brought on as the Director of Food Service for the Murray's group and calls herself the "mother hen" of the upcoming cheese-centic restaurant.

The new project won't debut until mid-summer, but boy does she have some plans. There will be cheese boards of course, and charcuterie—all from Murray's and often from their caves—and there will also be large format raclette dinners with all the traditional fixings, fondue, grilled whole cheeses, cheese curds, cheese sandwiches, and the most enticing of all, a rarebit burger, consisting of an open faced patty melt that is smothered in a liquid beer and cheese mixture table-side. "It's cheeseburger on steroids," Keenan says, "This is like a cheese-focused restaurant to the max. It's all about cheese. We're doing all different manifestations of all the different ways you can enjoy cheese." Keenan is also in charge of the beer and wine lists and will lend a hand when the Bleecker street retail location starts selling beer.

Stay tuned for more as the opening approaches this summer.
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