Barnyard Cheese Shop making a return as Barnyard Express with weekend-only service

Text and photos by Stacie Joy

After an October closure, Beatriz Gutierrez is rebooting Barnyard Cheese Shop at 168 Avenue B. 

Starting today, Gutierrez will be operating Barnyard Express from the storefront between 10th Street and 11th Street.

Barnyard Express will have a limited menu featuring the six best-selling sandwiches from the original menu (including the Mexican-Cuban with slow-roasted pork, ham, Swiss, avocado, pickled jalapenos, dill pickles and mayo, and the Barnyard Classic with eggs, thick-cut bacon and a farmhouse cheddar). There will also be two vegetarian options in the sandwich mix. 

Other items include soup and dessert. (There are rumors of the return of the crowd-pleasing lemon bars.) For now, there aren't any salads or sides. 

Also new: Online ordering. (Use this link.) Starting today, patrons can order online and then come and pick it up. No delivery. 

Hours: Friday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with the possibility of expanding as time goes on. 

Gutierrez said that so many people asked her to reopen, she decided to bring Barnyard back in a limited capacity. 

"I feel a huge responsibility ... Food is everything to me," she said. "I am excited, but this is daunting —will people come back?" 

She closed in October after being unable to find someone to helm her kitchen. Victor, her longtime cook, lost his brother during the pandemic. Victor returned home this fall to be with his family in Mexico.

So moving forward, Gutierrez will be doing the cooking. Her cousin and goddaughter, longtime counterperson Diana Chain (below left), will be working the front of the house...