Murray's Cheese in Manhattan is nominated for a Luxist Award in the Best Cheese Shop category.

Murray's Cheese started as a humble little egg and butter shop back in 1940, opened by a Spanish civil war veteran named Murray Greenberg who would buy cheese on the cheap and resell it. The shop has changed hands only a couple of times over all of the last 60-some years, and has had a few different addresses too, but one thing has stayed the same: it's always sold great cheese and dairy.

Great cheese hasn't always been gourmet cheese, however. As recently as 10 years ago, under the management of current owner Rob Kaufelt, Murray's started to 'get serious about the good stuff' and focus on selling high-end cheeses for people who know the difference. It was a slow start for the pricier inventory but today the shop is packed with customers (even in this tough economy) willing to pay upwards of $20 or $30 for a block of exquisitely flavorful and sometimes very rare cheese.

Murray's Cheese has rolled with the punches and maintained its neighborhood feel throughout many years of change, and now thanks to technology even if you don't live in the Manhattan or New York area you can still enjoy shopping via the website, mail order service, or even the gift catalog complete with a "cheese of the month" club option.

Vote now for what you believe is the best of breed in Gourmet Foods. Readers' Choice Awards for Food will be announced on November 30th.