Night owls, third-shift workers, and even plain old procrastinators have cause to celebrate this month, as Philly has a new 24/7 cheese vending machine. Find it housed in a bright-red booth right outside of Perrystead Dairy (1639 N. Hancock St.) in Kensington.
Step inside the booth and peruse the selection of Perrystead’s own award-winning cheese, plus charcuterie, jams, and crackers. Tap or insert your credit card to pay (no cash), then open the door to your chosen good, Automat-style.
Need a cheeseboard to plate your haul? You can buy those, too — in marble, wood, or slate. According to Perrystead founder and cheesemaker Yoav Perry, cheese knives are on the way. That makes Perrystead a one-stop shop for late-night cravings, last-minute gifting, and on-the-fly picnicking, which you can do steps away in the creamery’s lovely pollinator garden.
The cheese dispensary — Perry’s preferred term — was installed and stocked earlier this month, but it flew under-the-radar for its first couple weeks of operation. That changed last Friday, when chef Michael Solomonov tipped off the wider public on Instagram.
“[Solomonov’s] stuff took off and then a bunch of people posted stories about it,” Perry said, describing the inevitable social-media scrum that follows the emergence of