“The number follows us and always brings good luck to us, so we had to bring it here,” owner of 888 Cheese & Co Brandy Hernandez said.

888 Cheese & Co is a new hot spot in the Suamico area with their main dishes being grilled cheese sandwiches. This small business works with other local businesses, women-owned businesses, and small breweries around Wisconsin. Products utilized include bread from Uncle Mike’s Bakery, beer from Ahnapee Brewery, cheese from Springside and more. 

Brandy and Juan Hernandez, the owners, have a special connection to the numbers 888 reflected in their business’s name. The Hernandez’s started dating Aug. 8, 2008 – numerical date 08/08/08. The couple wanted to keep the eights with their marriage date, leading them to get married on Aug. 8, 2014.

“We built a house a few minutes north of Suamico and did not have the [house number] until we went to sign our papers, and 888 was the number we received,” Brandy said. “We had an exchange student at the time that called it fate and a very lucky number in her home county.”

This connection led to the start of 888 Cheese & Co. 

Brandy and Juan had always wanted to own their own restaurant, but timing was holding them back. They’d been waiting for a location to open in Suamico for the past two years.  

“We are Suamico natives and wanted to keep our family and our business close by,” Brandy said. 

With all their children almost out of high school, the two decided that once they found the location in October, it was time. 

Starting a business can be very troublesome, whether it is picking out a location, choosing the cuisine, or hiring staff, and 888 Cheese & Co has gone through it all.

“Wisconsin is known for cheese, and grilled cheese is a staple comfort food growing up for most from the area,” Brandy said. “So we took it a step further and made it fun and different.” 

888 Cheese & Co plans on having food options for everyone in the future. Currently they provide gluten free options, and they are working towards vegan options as well. 

“There is not a grilled cheese restaurant in the surrounding area,” Brandy said. 

Brandy believes their restaurant has no comparison to others in the area. 888 Cheese & Co is even physically run differently from other restaurants locally. 

“You order at the counter, take a number and a seat, [then] we bring the food and check on you for desserts and more drinks if needed,” Brandy said. 

Along with figuring out how to run the business, the owners also needed to figure out who would run the business. Currently businesses around the nation are struggling for employees. This was an issue that 888 Cheese & Co was also worried about; however, the power of social media helped grow their team. 

“Our biggest draw to get employees was word of mouth, social media, and our story,” Brandy said. 

Both Juan and Brandy are chef’s by trade and have been working in the industry for over 20 years. Now, they are finally able to take steps towards what they enjoy.

Brandy said, “We are at the point in life where we can have fun with our work now, so we plan to have it.”