If you have a passion for cheese, or if you are randomly in rural northern Wisconsin and looking…read morefor something to do, definitely check out this cheese shop. You may or may not see a sign for it on the highway, and you may wonder where you're headed turning down rural roads into farm territory, but when you make it there you'll be surrounded by all the cheese in its most glorious form and in its natural setting, (close to some cows). A wide variety of cheeses...I want to say too many...but there's no such thing as too many cheeses...but if there were... Lots of local goods of both the grocery and souvenir variety. Cheese samples. Lots of cheese samples. Super friendly ladies who will give you cheese samples. Don't pass this up. Did I mention the cheese samples? I sincerely believe that if you dropped this place in the middle of a major city, that everyone would line up around the building to witness and then devour its cheesy goodness. If you drive past it you're making a mistake. Don't think twice. Just go.

We were looking for a quintessential Wisconsin cheese shop experience, and this was not it…read more Completely under whelmed by our visit. Zero customer service. Not worth the detour.

If you are looking for fresh, delicious fish you've come to the right place. We stopped here…read morebecause we were craving fresh lake fish and to our surprise there was a local band playing. This made the dockside restaurant quite crowded and left only a short wall for my husband and I to sit and eat. One of the workers came out with a foldable table for us since he saw us struggling to hold the food on our laps. That is what I call service!

If you are near Bayfield, Wisconsin, or visiting the Apostle Islands, Hoop's Fish Market on 707 Old…read moreMilitary Road #13 is a must-visit seafood market. Their smoked trout fillets were exceptional, offering an unparalleled freshness and delectable taste. I returned to the market three times within two days of my visit. Their smoked salmon, smoked whitefish, and fish spread are equally impressive. Amy assisted me on both days, demonstrating exceptional knowledge of the products, unwavering friendliness, and remarkable patience. The prices are remarkably reasonable. I wish their market has online ordering options, as I would likely order their fish monthly. This establishment is highly recommended.

One wonderful thing about most Wisconsin gas stations is that among the usual offerings of Redbull…read moreand desiccated hot dogs rolling in place is the abundance of great cheese curds and meat sticks. As we were heading into Northern Wisconsin, I knew the gas stations would not offer such specialties but the more prosaic Slim Jims and mass-produced meat sticks. Not interested. After a disappointing turn in the local gas station in Iron River, I found I had a few bars on my smartphone and immediately looked up the Iron River chamber of commerce. Jim's Meat Market: "Famous for the "Pepper Sticks" this meat market is a must for locals and visitors!" That sounded promising. It was off the main street, but only a half mile away. We drove on a road with minimal signage. There are little signs for Jim's here and there and then suddenly you come across a big building with aluminum siding that looks new and clean. Inside is pretty sparse but Jim and his wife are there to help you out. We got a pack of the cheddar pepper sticks; it was about $7 for a pound! That's an amazing deal since you get like four sticks for $6 bucks in the Twin Cities and our pack had three or four times as many. We also got a pack of pepperjack brats; unlike the regular brats that you can buy by the link, this came in a frozen pack of 7 for about $7. The pepper sticks were delicious; more dry like langjager and very peppery, a little spicy. The texture and taste reminded me a bit of pepperoni, only with chunks of cheese. It was hard to stop eating them. We were camping, so we had to cook all the brats that night. They are loaded with cheese as well and were delicious. I haven't met a brat I don't like. These were harder to cook since they were raw. If we weren't bike camping, it would have made the cooking process easier with more tools on my part. Jim was a little cranky but answered all my questions. Count me a fan.

We had breakfast nearby & loved the local breakfast sausage made here at Jim's Meat Market. So…read morenaturally, we had to come here (and spend over $55-but well worth every penny). Locally sourced & made meat products. Excellent service! You can ask them about their products because they make them! Try the Landjager-you won't be disappointed! Pssssst...the secret ingredient for the breakfast sausage is mustard seed. So we had to buy breakfast sausage frozen for our home use!

We've been using this business for 3 years and wouldn't go anywhere else. The Koosman family is…read morehonest, friendly, and knowledgeable. You'll enjoy the experience and quality

This place is amazing! The shop sits right on the farm. The owners are super friendly and they have…read more beautiful steaks. They also sell pork and cheese. Their prices are very competitive and the quality of their products is second to none! I always stop and pick up something for dinner when I visit family in Michigan. I highly recommend this shop if you want premium quality meats and cheese without paying premium prices.

My sister and I made it a point to stop at this place to sample some of their baked goods while we…read morewere up in the northland in later October 2024. The afternoon we were there, it was extraordinarily blustery outside, with dirt being whipped around town as their major through road area was under construction. We parked our vehicle and walked a block or two to Coco, where we got a hot beverage to sip on while enjoying the hot blueberry turnover that had just come out of their oven. It was sooo delicious! Flaky pastry folded over generous, intensely-flavored blueberry filling. The experience brought me right back to childhood memories of eating the frozen ones made by Pepperidge Farms that you baked in the oven at home. It was the rare occasion that my mom bought a box or two of them (there were 4 per box, and there were 5 members in my family), most likely, when they were "on sale" at a local grocer. The decor inside the place was very colorful, quirky, funny, awesome! Will make it a point to visit this place again when I'm in the area!

Nice small town bakery cafe with scratch made everything. Super friendly service. My sandwich was…read morevery good and I was happy happy until another guy walked past me with a breakfast sandwich that looked like an entire omelet stuffed in a biscuit. Jealousy is never good.

Stopped by here on the way to Bayfield, and it was so good that I stopped by again on the way back…read moreto the Twins. That was the 4th of July, and Halvorson's was open. Very reasonably priced smoked and fresh fish (whitefish, trout, chunk, salmon...) along the South Shore; very close to Meyers Beach and the mainland sea caves- a jawdroppingly gorgeous hike. And yes, did you know our Great Lakes have Pacific salmon in them? Halvorson's even sells whitefish livers, frozen and vacuum packed, or fresh in deli container, both $10/lb. Im fine being the only one excited about this :D Also, whitefish cheeks-- which some call freshwater scallops frozen and vac-packer. Best of all, Geri, who will ring up and pack your fish, is the sweetest sweetheart. We had bread and pickles and such to round out the sweet-n-salty smoked fish, picnicked right at the beach and went for a dip after-

We love smoked fish, and Lake Superior is definitely the place for it. Halverson Fisheries came…read morehighly recommended, and now we know why! You park out front, walk towards the back by the pier towards a green building to the back. As soon as you entered the door, you're greeted with a glass display full of fish, a handwritten whiteboard menu, and folks cleaning fresh catches right behind the counter. We grabbed some trout, including a brown sugar trout filet and chuck, the first time--so good! Not too salty and reasonable prices.

Great co-op! I was in town for the weekend and stopped here on my way out of town. I will make a…read morepoint to go back when I'm in the area. Good selection!

Great customer service and good grocery selection. We bought snacks like cheese, sausage, and…read morecrackers and everything was good and fresh. Very friendly staff.

My own personal mistake should not be a ding against the excellence that is Russ Kendall's Smoke…read moreHouse. Those who listen to my cautionary tale may end up fairing better for themselves should you decide to make the trek and find yourself at this magnificent smoked seafood counter. But first, for the love of god, if you are here you are a stone's throw from Lake Superior which is perhaps one of the best places for fish in the country. You may like salmon. Russ Kendall may do a great job with salmon. But don't sleep on those fish that were plucked from these frigid waters. This mindset had me eyeing the walleye and the jumbo whitefish sections. I wanted to buy both, but this was just one of many smoked fish destinations on my list for the week. I hate wasting food, and there is only so much my family can eat. Despite what others may suggest, I am not about to freeze beautiful smoked fish. My hope was that pieces in the case might be able to be cut down. But those hopes were dashed. I get it. That's fine. Policy. Mess. Time. Workflow. Yadda yadda yadda. The walleye pieces were big, but the helpful clerk found a smaller one just for me. Now, as the fish selection process was happening, more and more people were funneling into the shop. My wife was getting antsy. She wanted me to make up my mind and leave. And she had a point. However, that smaller piece was from the meaty and lean tail end of the fish. In a panic I gave the piece a thumbs up, and the clerk wrapped it up for me. This was my one great regret. Not just of this shopping trip, but of my whole vacation. I should have opted for a larger piece that was fat and juicy. That same helpful clerk did indeed find me a gorgeous hunk of lake whitefish that was delightfully fatty, and eating it made me smile with delight. Of course, different people can prefer different pieces of fish. Just like there are some chicken wing lovers who prefer the drummette and others who prefer the flat. If everyone liked the same thing, the world would be a pretty dull place. I guess what I'm saying is don't panic. Know in advance the cuts in the case are the cuts that are available for sale. Find the pieces that call you. If it ends up being a little more fish than you wanted, so be it. This stuff is so good you'll find a way to get it down without denigrating it to the freezer. For those who need crackers, like my wife and kid, there are sleeves for sale. As far as I'm concerned, those crackers are just taking up space in my belly that could be used for more fish. One last thing. Okay, maybe a few last things. Let's call it a lightning round: This isn't a restaurant. It's a takeaway smoked fish shop. It's small. It's busy. It's efficient. It's a regional treasure. Get there. Eat local smoked fish. Salmon isn't local to Minnesota. Get it fatty. Do not fear heads, or skin, or bones. The good stuff takes a little extra work, but it's worth it! You've got this. Now eat well.

We stopped by right before closing for a really late lunch. There's a good selection of smoked…read morefish. We got a salmon and white fish. We liked the salmon better than the white fish. There is a good selection of cheeses and cheese spreads. I did like that they sell crackers in individual sleeves instead of whole boxes. One sleeve was perfect for us. We also liked the onion and chive cheese spread. They have some fun pickles and jams but the jars are so big. It would be nice if they had some smaller selections of those items for people like us that are picking up something to eat while exploring the North Shore. I was asking for recommendations and didn't get a clear answer and the gentleman helping us seemed put off by our questions. It was our first time getting smoked fish like this. It could have been that there was an influx of people coming in moments before closing. There is no place to sit, which is not a problem. Just putting it here so if can help someone. We thought it was a lunch spot and didn't realize it was more of a speciality store. There was a picnic table/bench right next to the parking lot where we sat and ate.

Small place but delicious! Don't miss this gem in the north shore. Quick in and out for some fresh…read moresmoked fish

Incredibly friendly staff and was thrilled at the selection of smoked fish! My husband loves smoked…read moresalmon so when I saw the first billboard for Lou's fish house on the way back from Grand Marais, I knew as soon as it appeared I would be stopping in! I ended up getting a chunk of sugar salmon, Cajun salmon, and peppercorn steelhead. Surprisingly my husband enjoyed the sugar salmon the most, said it had incredible flavor, not too dry, and good variety across the different fishes