At long last, Calf and Kid cheese doyenne Sheri LaVigne has found a home for her cheese bar. She's transforming a storefront at 1806 12th Avenue (a new apodment building two blocks off Pine) into a tavern where the beer and wine will flow in support of the cheese.

The name, Culture Club, remains one of my favorite things ever. Anyone who's ever read LaVigne's cheese tasting notes knows the woman's got a way with lush cheeses and dry wit.

Culture Club will be a very casual place, says LaVigne. It's not a wine bar nor a place to guzzle Manny's. The drinks (beer and wine only) are "just there to highlight the cheese experience." They will generally be served in the form of cheese pairing flights. A few cheese-centric hot items, like rotating grilled cheeses and mac and cheese will round out the food menu. In winter the kitchen might dabble in frico or gratins, while summer is all about burrata.

Cheese bars have popped up in several other cities in recent years; the menus at places like Mission Cheese in San Francisco give an idea of what LaVigne's planning.

There's no retail cheese counter at Culture Club (I mean, Calf and Kid is just a short walk away), but LaVigne is downright giddy that she can conduct cheese seminars in a space in back without disturbing the goings-on in the tavern. Plus her neighbor in the building will be tiny Outer Planet Brewing, making for some excellent synergy.

However all this excitement is tempered by LaVigne's remorse about not finding a space in Ballard as she originally promised. "I tried, I really did," she says, recounting the 10 months she spent looking at places that were the wrong size, and the eventual realization that her small business loan came with an expiration date. 

Hold out hope, guys. "I have every intention of having a presence in Ballard in the future," says LaVigne. Meanwhile, Culture Club should open some time this summer. Keep an eye on its newly minted Facebook page for updates.