Say cheese: Pimento's popularity paves growth for an unusual cast of food startups.

• Author: Smith, Katherine Snow

Even Mick Jagger had to try it.

"I sucked down some pimento cheese," he told thousands of fans at Bank of America Stadium when the Rolling Stones played in Charlotte late last year. The 78-year-old tasted the delicacy sometime before or after his much-publicized visit to the Queen City's Thirsty Beaver Saloon.

Why wouldn't Jagger order up some pimento cheese? He's a rock star, not living under a rock. Pimento cheese has appeared on more menus and supermarket shelves in recent years. It's not just for picnic sandwiches and bridge games anymore, nor is it just a Southern dip.

Rather, it's a cash crop for North Carolina entrepreneurs who are creating distinctive variations of grated cheese melded with mayonnaise to create a staple in refrigerators from coast to coast.

"Pimento cheese has been thought of as a regional peculiarity for so long, but it's something that has taken hold all over," says John Morgan, CEO of Queen Charlotte's Pimento Cheese Royale. The Charlotte business still sells most of its product in the South but also cites success in Massachusetts, Ohio and nearly two dozen other states.

Morgan and four employees make 7,000 10-ounce containers of pimento cheese each week at a 6,000-square-foot warehouse in Charlotte. His repertoire includes original, jalapeno, blue cheese and bacon varieties.

"It's like mass psychosis," he says."Any body who tries it--it doesn't matter where they are from--they realize it's good."

Dr. Cheryl Barnett, CEO of Greensboro-based MyThreeSons Gourmet, also benefits from national demand for her pimento cheese, which comes in original, spicy white cheddar and jalapeno flavors. Small shops and large supermarkets carry the brand in 20 states.

"It's in Whole Foods in Hawaii, believe it or not," says Barnett, who is the mother of three sons. "My son was skiing in Sun Valley, Idaho, and it was for sale there. It's also made it to Big Sky, Montana."

Home is where pimento cheese is

Long before pimento cheese gained national popularity, it was a regular on the crustless sandwich circuit and comfort food in Grandma's Formica kitchen. The simple concoction was also a staple in commissaries and lunch pails at Carolinas factories for generations. A pimento cheese pioneer has been Charlotte-based, family-owned Ruth's Salads, which has made its widely distributed spread since 1953.

Pimento cheese has come a long way since then. There's pimento cheese quesadillas, pimento cheese on a biscuit or bagel, grilled pimento...