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Smallgoods’s Journey From Cheese Shop to Gourmet Deli

Owners Mike and Jenny Eastwood discuss their story from video production to NYC cheese caves and building a pandemic-proof business

By Jackie Bryant June 5, 2025

Smallgoods’s Journey From Cheese Shop to Gourmet Deli — Courtesy of Smallgoods American Cheeses & Provisions

NEIGHBORHOOD GUIDES Know the Neighborhood Where to eat, where to drink, and what it's like to live there. EXPLORE THE GUIDES

This week on Happy Half Hour, hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant welcome Mike and Jenny Eastwood of Smallgoods American Cheeses & Provisions—a La Jolla gem born out of NYC’s Murray’s Cheese and years in San Diego’s farmers market trenches.

The couple shares how a career in commercial production, a cheese cave internship, and a well-timed move from Byron Bay to San Diego turned into a sandwich-slinging, American cheese–championing neighborhood mainstay that happens to be in the same building where Mike worked 30 years ago at Spike & Mike’s Festival of Animation.

They talk Covid pivots, the cult of their curated cheese case, and why they believe the future of food lies in supporting small domestic producers.

About Jackie Bryant

Jackie is a long-time freelance journalist covering cannabis, food/restaurants, travel, labor, wine, spirits, arts & culture, design, and other topics. Her work has been selected twice for Best American Travel Writing, and she has won a variety of national and local awards for her writing and reporting.

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