Rising tides no match for the power of Bay Head Cheese & Bottles

Driving down Bridge Avenue, there are many small, local businesses that have stood resolute for many years, yet one stands out as unique among the rest. 

Bay Head Cheese Shop & Bottles Too, located at 91 Bridge Ave., opened as a cheese shop in 1971 and has stood the test of time, surviving floods, hurricanes and pandemics alike.

The store sells imported and domestic cheese and wines, along with homemade quiches, soups, dips, hors d’ouvres and cheesecake. Pies and other sweet treats are also available. On top of the impressive selection of wines, the store also carries several beers and alcoholic drinks. 

Scott Dilatush, who owns the store with his wife, Charlie, and their daughter, Sophie Cardin, says one of the store’s most popular products is a triple cream cheese, which is a type of Brie. 

Homemade quiche is another best-seller, made from Charlie Dilatush’s recipe and crust from Mueller’s Bakery.

“Growing up, my mom would make these on Christmas morning and when she bought the business, she started doing her recipe here and it has taken off, and is tradition for many people in this town,” said Cardin. 

When Scott Dilatush took over the store in 2009, the store only sold cheese, with minimal variety. He credits his wife with bringing in many new cheeses and other items into the shop. 

In 2010, the store obtained a liquor license, which helped business grow exponentially. Half the store is now dedicated to wine.

STARTING OUT

Both Scott and Charlie Dilatush worked in education for over 40 years, but were laid off in 2008. Soon after, they discovered that this shop was for sale. 

Cardin said, “My mom always wanted to do something like this and so she saw an opportunity and jumped on it. The next thing we knew our family owned a cheese shop.”

The family lives in Point Pleasant Beach, but has strong ties to Bay Head as well. Scott Dilatush was a lifeguard on Bay Head’s Bridge Avenue beach for over 40 years, with the last 30 years being on the busiest time, the weekends. 

“As the business became busier and busier, I had less time to play down the beach,” said Scott Dilatush.

Charlie Dilatush developed the vision for the store, but a few years ago, she suffered health issues and had to step back temporarily. During that time, Cardin stepped in, leaving her other job to help run the shop full time. Cardin eventually fell in love with the shop and the community. 

“Our customers not only really love the shop, but also us, specifically my mother especially,” said Cardin. 

BUSINESS OVER THE YEARS

Over the years, the business has grown steadily, despite Mother Nature’s best efforts to try and sink the store, in some cases literally. 

“This has become a spot where people come in and talk, getting that atmosphere and building relationships with your customers over the years, it is a nice environment in that respect,” said Scott Dilatush. 

Surprisingly, the pandemic helped this business grow as more and more families moved to Bay Head full time, the store saw more traffic year round as people kept coming to the store. During the pandemic, the store took orders online and over the phone, and left the orders outside for customers to pick up.

“More people fell in love with the area year-round, so we ended up with more people in town all year,” said Cardin. “We were one of the odd cases. The pandemic helped us in a way.”

One event that did not help the cheese shop was Superstorm Sandy. The high-water line marked on a doorframe in the shop tells the story of how the water was roughly three feet in the store. 

“Everything in here floated and flipped over. We had to replace all the coolers,” said Scott Dilatush. Despite this, they also consider themselves very lucky in comparison to other businesses that were destroyed outright. 

Cardin said, “We were able to come back and reopen, and still be here.” Scott Dilatush also credited the landlord, who did not charge them rent for the entire winter they were closed for renovations. 

RISING WATERS

Since Sandy, flooding continues to plague the borough, despite mitigation efforts. Bridge Avenue especially has historically seen significant flooding. The owners of Bay Head Cheese have made modifications to the shop, raising the floors, which are made of plywood, allowing for water to pass through them.

Scott Dilatush joked and said this lifestyle was almost like living on the water itself. He further said, “We had to adapt to the situation. Last year in January, we had a storm where the winds blew, gail force, out of the south for two to three days and this whole area was flooded. I was walking around with eight inches of water in here that day.”

TOP NOTCH BUSINESS

As for many other Shore businesses, summers are the busiest times of the year for this store, with bumper-to-bumper traffic on Bridge Avenue, and foot traffic from the beach increasing the customer base.

“One of the nice things about having a business like this, you not only become friends with a lot of customers, you also become friends with suppliers…You develop a relationship with them which is a positive thing,” said Scott Dilatush. 

Bay Head Cheese Shop & Bottles Too is open daily. For hours and more information, call 732-892-7585, check the store’s Facebook page, or go to bayheadcheeseshopandbottlestoo.com