Construction Updates
Grafton Village Cheese Expanding
The success of the Grafton Village Cheese Co., owned by the nonprofit Windham Foundation, has created a need to increase production of its cheese. Expanding at the Retreat Farm provides the Cheese Co. an optimal location to grow the cheese business and also further its mission and the Windham Foundation's mission to continue to support Vermont agriculture as well as land conservation and historic preservation.
The Retreat Petting Farm will remain, as will all the historical structures on the farmstead. The only building removed for the construction was the modern freestall barn, located on the north side of the farmstead. This building was recycled for other agricultural purposes by a nearby farmer.
A ceremonial groundbreaking took place in Brattleboro on June 26, 2007. Official construction started on Monday, June 18, 2007.
About the New Plant
We are building a structure that will allow us to produce 1.5 million pounds of cheese annually, with the potential for three million pounds in future years.
The design of the building will be complementary to the historic farm buildings, and conforms to the preservation easements that are in place. It has been approved by the state office of Historic Preservation. Included in the new building are an office and meeting space, a shop to sell the cheese and other Vermont products and an area for viewing the cheesemaking process.
Our goal is to begin producing cheese in the new plant in 2008. Our flagship location in Grafton, which includes a production facility and a retail cheese shop, will continue to operate as it has since the 1960s. Come visit us in Grafton, watch cheese being made and taste the delicious final product!
Keeping Green
We are working closely with Efficiency Vermont to ensure that the new Grafton Village Cheese Co. plant will be as energy efficient as possible.
Construction Updates
Update: March 25, 2008
We're in the final stages of construction and should start making our first vat of cheese in the next few weeks. We're hiring on some fantastic staff for both the production and retail sides of the business. Our retail store manager is finalizing vendor relationships. There is still a lot to do on the outdoors front - the snow has been a hinderance in that regard. After that point, we start working on those little aspects of really finishing the project. It's a very exciting time!
Opening?
The question keeps getting asked..."When is the retail store opening?" Truthfully, when it's ready. We will be making cheese in the facility before the retail store opens. Our goal is to have the store at 100 percent before we open to our customers. So, because of that, we don't have an opening date.
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