Pinconning cheese and the shops that carried it forward

Pinconning cheese dates to 1915, when Daniel Horn brought his cheesemaking experience from Wisconsin to a town shifting from lumber to dairy. His Colby-style formula could be kept at the warmer temperatures common before modern refrigeration. The cheese took the town’s name, and Pinconning still uses “Cheese Capital of Michigan” as a civic nickname.

Horn’s daughter Inez Wilson opened Wilson’s Cheese Shoppe in 1939. The City of Pinconning calls it Michigan’s oldest cheese store and says it remains in the same location, serving Horn’s original recipe. Another daughter, Marie Bennett, and her husband opened the business that became Pinconning Cheese Co. in 1948. That store changed owners several times and has been run by the Saha family since 1987, according to its company history.

The two shops still anchor the old US-23 strip through town. Pinconning Cheese Co. says it ages some of its cheese for as long as 120 months. Treat that as the store’s own product claim, and check the shops directly for current hours and stock before making a special trip.