Steve Ehlers

He was a visionary who first brought Perrier and croissants to the masses in Wisconsin through his father's corner grocery store. But Steve Ehlers ultimately carved his legacy in cheese. He passionately shared his knowledge of cheese, and who crafted it. He volunteered tirelessly behind-the-scenes for more than a decade with the American Cheese Society to help nurture a growing artisan cheese industry across North America, and particularly in Wisconsin. Customers knew him as the friendly guy behind the counter at Larry's Market in Brown Deer who, along with his dad, Larry, eagerly offered samples of cheese he thought customers would enjoy and want to share with others on a cheeseboard, alongside gourmet specialty foods. A year ago, when he was too ill to attend a cheddar-tasting dinner featuring a favorite cheesemaker at L'Etoile in Madison — something he would never miss under ordinary circumstances — his family pushed him to see a doctor. The diagnosis was colon cancer. Ehlers died Tuesday. He was 65. "You never felt like you were working when you volunteered with Steve," said Joan Kimball, who co-chaired the 2008 American Cheese Society Conference & Cheese Competition in Chicago with Ehlers and served on the society's board of directors with him from 2004-'10. "His sense of humor, down-to-earth personality, no-nonsense attitude was fun," Kimball said. "No task was ever impossible. He was the 'can do' guy who always found a way ... never looking for or wanting any recognition." Ehlers made his living alongside his father and sister Patty Ehlers Peterson. Larry Ehlers worked at the Brown Deer Food Market before buying the corner grocery store in 1970. The traditional corner store delivered groceries to prominent families on Lake Drive long before supermarkets entered the market. Steve helped out at the store, later managed it, and ultimately bought it about 21 years ago with his wife, Cindy. Born in Milwaukee, he spent most of his life in Cedarburg. He graduated from Cedarburg High School in 1969 and studied engineering at Georgia Tech for a year. After deciding college wasn't for him, he traveled through Europe, sampling great food along the way. The family business evolved with the changing grocery landscape. In the '70s, as supermarkets began popping up, Larry Ehlers started taking phone orders for gift baskets. Father and son attended a Fancy Food Show in New York with $100 to buy imported cheeses. The imported cheeses took off. So did gourmet specialty foods and a catering niche. "Steve had a lot of vision," said his sister. "When he liked something and knew something, he wanted to share that with people. He had to believe in the product. He did the research." Love Of Cheese Steve Ehlers' love affair with Wisconsin cheeses began in 2001, when he attended an American Cheese Society contest in Louisville and a small-batch, Alpine-style cheese made by Uplands Cheese near Dodgeville won Best of Show honors its first year in production. Ehlers connected with the cheesemaker, Mike Gingrich, and agreed to sell the award-winning Pleasant Ridge Reserve at Larry's Market. It was the first of many award-winning cheeses made in Wisconsin that Ehlers would enthusiastically share with others. He brought the cheese sampling tradition of cheese shops in Europe to Larry's Market so customers here could experience cheese before buying it. As more artisan cheeses emerged in Wisconsin, Steve Ehlers became one of their biggest supporters, both behind the scenes and behind the counter. He respected the hard work and craft of artisan food, whether it was cheese or crackers. He mentored cheesemakers, food artisans and gourmet food retailers, advising them on packaging, labeling and what would or wouldn't sell. Cheesemaker Marieke Penterman, who makes Gouda cheese under the Holland's Family Cheese label in Thorp, is among those Ehlers mentored. Ehlers got to know Penterman and her cheese. And when she started a new line, he ordered four wheels without tasting it, she recalled. "When I asked if he would want a sample, he said, 'No, I know it will be good.' To have such trust from someone that has so much knowledge about cheese gave me courage." Ehlers also connected Penterman with Hollywood. "It was because of Steve that our cheese was part of a CSI show," she said. Chef Scott Shully, who with his wife, Beth, owns Shully's Cuisine and Events in Thiensville, got to know Ehlers in the mid-1970s. Shully made his own salad dressing in the commercial kitchen of Larry's Market while cooking in a restaurant. The Ehlerses sold the dressing in their store. Shully and Ehlers came into their own as businessmen at the same time. They had long talks about business, family and life. "He was a kind and gentle man and such a jokester," Shully said of his friend. Shully admired his friend's knowledge of cheese, and his ability to balance flavors such as blue cheese on beets. "His palate and nose ability were exceptional." He also appreciated Ehlers' grasp of technology and electronic gadgets. In addition to his work with the American Cheese Society, Ehlers was on the board of the Dairy Business Innovation Center throughout its existence, from 2004 through 2012. He was a retail packaging judge at the World Cheese and U.S. Cheese championships and an aesthetic judge for the American Cheese Society. He was inducted into the Guildes des Fromagers. A voracious reader of mysteries, Ehlers also was a past president of the Cedarburg Library Board. He served on the City of Cedarburg Board of Appeals. And with his wife, he was an advocate for the Families Anonymous Program. Memorials are suggested to Nova Counseling Services Inc., 3240 Jackson St., Oshkosh, WI 54901. In addition to his father, sister and wife, Ehlers is survived by sons Andy and Peter, and brother Jeff. He was preceded in death by his mother, Carol. Steve Ehlers A celebration of life will be held at The Watermark at Shully's in Thiensville from 2 to 6 p.m. July 10 with special remembrances at 2:30 p.m. Published by: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel