the cheese board collective's expansion is underway - here's what to expect

after eight years of planning and anticipation, the cheese board collective is expanding its north berkeley footprint.

folks might have noticed new construction at the corner of shattuck and vine, the shipping container now stationed near the cheese board's parklet, and the extended holiday pause for the cheese board bakery and cheese shop.

the walls have already come down between the former bakery space at 1504 shattuck avenue and the neighboring "corner store" at 1500 shattuck avenue in berkeley, and renovations are fully underway. (full disclosure: a behind-the-scenes visit at the start of january left this writer with a touch of sadness as the black and white dais from the old shop was hauled away.)

for regulars and fans, the change might be bittersweet, but as many locals know, this is not the first time the cheese board has grown. as with other transitions over the worker-owned collective's 58-year history, the results should prove a win-win for everyone. and in many ways, the beloved north berkeley neighborhood staple is also staying exactly the same.

here's what to know.

(to get straight to customer logistics for january, read on. to learn more, skip down the page.)

what to expect during construction:

• starting january 20, the cheese board bakery and cheese shop will temporarily sell baked goods, pastries and cheeses out of the shipping container stationed on shattuck avenue, south of the parklet outside cheese board pizza.
• the plan is to provide the full menu of baked goods as usual, including scones, baguettes, cheese rolls, chocolate things, pantry items and par-baked pizzas, with all customer orders placed inside the shipping container.
• yes, there will be coffee! the cheese board sources their coffee from mr. espresso, and crafts some of berkeley's favorite drip and espresso drinks. customers will order inside the shipping container, and collect their drinks at a temporary station inside the pizzeria at 1512 shattuck avenue. (no cold brew during the build out.)
• cheese service will remain, if a bit pared down, but there will be no cheese cut to order until those logistics can be determined.
• get ready for a new line: customers will enter the shipping container from the south, and exit north, towards vine street.
• meanwhile, cheese board pizza at 1512 shattuck avenue reopens as usual on january 13. its storefront, hours and experience (with live music) will remain mostly unchanged and unaffected by the construction. it will also be used as a morning overfill space for things like coffee and par-baked pizza order pickups.
• expect lines to move at the usual pace, with perhaps a little flexibility required. signage and a cheese board 'concierge' will assist with customer flow each day.
• renovations and retail sales through the shipping container are expected to last through early summer 2026.

the 2026 expansion – new space, new flow:

• a rendering of the new design plan is posted for the public (and the cows) to see on the property window at 1500 shattuck avenue.
• architect on the expansion project is maurice levitch and his team levitch associates, who have a longstanding relationship with the cheese board, having built and renovated for them for decades, including many front- and back-of-house improvements and the group's sidewalk parklet in 2014.
• when the new space opens this summer, bakery and cheese shop customers will enter the shop at 1500 shattuck avenue. the cheese counter will be directly ahead and to the right, bakery retail further around to the left, and cashier stations at the far left, near the new exit.
• though the space itself will be doubled, much of it has been earmarked for essential back-of-house production – baking, pizza and food prep kitchen space and storage – built behind the customer-facing retail portion.
• yes! the plan is to bring back the old system of using playing cards for patient customers waiting (and making friends) in line.

some history:

• thoughtful growth is a healthy part of the cheese board collective's long history. the cheese shop and bakery first opened in 1967 at tiny 2114 vine street in berkeley (now fava), became a worker-owned collective in 1971, and expanded to 1504 shattuck avenue in 1975. it started serving pizza ten years later, separating out the pizzeria concept in 1990, and over time acquired three closed adjacent properties (pig-by-the-tail in 1986, fish market in 1989, and university hardware in 2007).
• in 2018, the busy collective took over the lease of the closed berkeley produce market at 1500 shattuck avenue – "the corner store" – and hoped to expand again and reopen maybe late spring 2020. and then the pandemic hit.
• it took long recovery and resource gathering to proceed with the build-out, to include overcoming challenges specific to an owner-operated business. (for example, roughly two thirds of the collective's 54 current members are post-pandemic hires, and every decision for the business is put to a vote.) in 2023, the collective also allocated resources to purchase the berkeley building (1500-1512 shattuck avenue) in which they operate at shattuck and vine.

extra slivers:

• cheese board pizza's all-time production record happened last thanksgiving eve, november 26, 2025, when they made more than 2,400 pizzas in one day, topping all pre-pandemic numbers.
• a busy berkeley friday or saturday might yield sales of around 2,000 baked treats and pastries for the cheese board bakery, including roughly 350 cheese rolls.
• on a high-demand weekend day, pizzeria staffers might freshly grate (with the help of a hand-fed machine) up to 1,200 pounds of cheese.
• the cheese board's cold case typically contains around 150 cheeses from all over the world. it's most popular sellers? d'affinois and prairie breeze cheddar.

january 6, 2025 (tips welcome)